Erin Andrews Takes Pam Oliver's Spot on Fox
Pam Oliver, who has worked with Fox for the last 19 years, will have a brand new role very soon.
According to New York Daily News, "Oliver was being 'elevated to senior correspondent,' where she will work for both Fox Sports 1 and Fox."
"I'm over the moon for the opportunity to expand my contributions to include a wider variety of sports and programs, while still getting to report from the sidelines on NFL Sundays. I've already spoken with Kevin and John and I'm really looking forward to being part of their outstanding team this season," Oliver said in a statement.
But is this new career shift really what she wanted?
According to NY Daily News, on Monday, the network "replaced Oliver with Erin Andrews on their No. 1 team." Instead of working with Joe Buck and Troy Aikman, Oliver will join Kevin Burkhardt and John Lynch, the network's "No. 2 crew."
In January, the 53-year-old sportscaster was pitted against then ESPN's Andrews, 36.
"All this stuff comes with the territory," Oliver told New York Daily News back in January. "She (Andrews) is a high-profile person... They want to start this competition." Oliver's time as the top NFL sideline reporter is now over, Sports Illustrated noted.
The report added that Oliver has already recovered from the shock of this new decision. "To go from the lead crew to no crew was a little shocking. I said I wanted to do a 20th year [on the sidelines]. I expressed to them that I was not done and had something to offer. Again, I think it was predetermined coming in. Not at that meeting, but two years ago it was determined that no matter what I did or did not do, a change would be made for this year."
She will now also face the deadline for long-form pieces, USA Today Sports said, noting that Oliver will still be on air for a long time after signing a multiyear contract with Fox.
Meanwhile, in an interview with Fox Sports president, Eric Shanks, on Sunday, Sports Illustrated quoted him as saying: "I think in the last five years we have made a lot of changes with the NFL crews... This is kind of the next move in that evolution." Quoting an unnamed veteran NFL reporter, however, the report said the reason for the shuffle might be that Oliver isn't "blonde nor is she in the demographic."
Despite the change, Oliver thinks her replacement is "solid." "It's not necessary to feel something [bad] toward the person who is assuming your former role... In a few years I think Fox will look radically different. I don't know how, but you have your thoughts and opinions," she told Sports Illustrated.