Al Michaels recognizes he is stepping into a big unknown with his role as the play-by-play announcer of a strictly streaming NFL package.
Michaels, speaking to Jimmy Traina on the Sports Illustrated Media Podcast, talked about how comfortable he is with Kirk Herbstreit and that he trusts the game’s producer Fred Gaudelli, but he knows people are going to struggle at first to find the game.
Michaels then told Traina that he does have one fear about doing the Amazon Thursday Night Football package but it has nothing to do with the presentation from the main game.
“The only fear I have with going into this package, and Nielsen is going to rate everything now for the first time ever, so I’m a little nervous about that and I don’t know how that’s going to work out,” said Michaels. “But if I see that Dude Perfect on the alternate feed out rates us one night, I’m done. I’m announcing my retirement.”
Michaels was teasing with the Dude Perfect comment because when asked about alternate feeds, he had no problems with them in general. He went on to say that he believes in the “Big Top” theory when it comes to the alternate broadcasts.
“Come one, come all. If that’s your thing, great.”
He also said that eventually, the game is the star and people will come back to it.
“You have to go back and watch the game, too,” Michaels said. “Sometimes you want to watch the game as the game.”
