BEREA, Ohio – In conjunction with the release of their full preseason schedule, the Cleveland Browns and WKYC-TV on Wednesday announced a new preseason broadcast team.
Dates and kickoff times for the Browns' four preseason games, in advance of the NFL releasing the regular-season schedule at 8 p.m. Wednesday:
CLEVELAND BROWNS 2014 PRESEASON SCHEDULE
DATE OPPONENT SITE NETWORK ET
Sat., Aug. 9 at Detroit Lions Ford Field WKYC 7:30 p.m.
Mon., Aug. 18 at Washington Redskins FedEx Field ESPN 8 p.m.
Sat., Aug. 23 ST. LOUIS RAMS FIRSTENERGY STADIUM WKYC 8 p.m.
Thur., Aug. 28 CHICAGO BEARS FIRSTENERGY STADIUM WKYC 8 p.m.
The Browns and WKYC are revamping their broadcast team, welcoming veteran commentator Solomon Wilcots to the preseason television booth. Additionally, the Browns are exploring more opportunities to allow fans to hear from Bernie Kosar, the All-Pro quarterback who guided the team to three AFC Championship games in the 1980s.
Wilcots, who will serve as color commentator alongside WKYC's Jim Donovan, the Voice of the Browns since 1999, is a regular-season analyst for the NFL on CBS, having called six Browns games in 2013 and 11 over the past three seasons. A former color commentator for New Orleans Saints preseason telecasts, he also hosts a daily show on SiriusXM NFL Radio, and serves as a studio analyst for NFL Network. Before launching his broadcast career in 1994, Wilcots played six NFL seasons.
The Browns are in discussions with Kosar on potential new roles, which could include segments on ClevelandBrowns.com, Cleveland Browns Daily on WKNR-850 AM, and the PNC Bank Cleveland Browns Radio Network. Kosar also could be part of the pregame telecasts for preseason games.
"Once again we look forward to continuing our tradition of broadcasting Cleveland Browns preseason football," said Brooke Spectorsky, president and general manager of WKYC-TV. "We've added Solomon Wilcots to our broadcast team as color analyst. At the same time, we wanted to explore having Bernie's presence with our broadcast team, possibly providing analysis during the pregame show with various segments throughout the preseason."
Browns President Alec Scheiner also released the following statement:
"We look forward to again having WKYC as our preseason broadcast partner. We welcome Solomon and are excited to look further into additional opportunities to continue to engage Bernie with our fans. We want Browns fans to look forward to seeing and hearing his continued contributions and analysis on not only our preseason telecasts, but also our radio network and ClevelandBrowns.com."
Head Coach Mike Pettine will make his unofficial Browns debut when Cleveland kicks off the 2014 preseason in Detroit on Saturday, Aug. 9.
Cleveland will play in front of a nationally televised audience on Monday, Aug. 18, at Washington, marking the Browns' first game on ESPN since 2009 (Nov. 16 vs. Baltimore) and first preseason contest on ESPN since 2008 (Aug. 18 at New York Giants).
The 2014 preseason home opener against the Rams on Saturday, Aug. 23, will mark the first opportunity for fans to see the FirstEnergy Stadium renovations, which include two new video boards nearly triple the size of the previous boards. In addition, there will be new LED video boards, which will feature stats, scores and information, and installation of an entirely new audio system, delivering crisper, clearer audio everywhere in the facility.
Cleveland will close out the preseason against the Chicago Bears on Thursday, Aug. 28.
Cleveland Browns 2014 season tickets are now available. Fans can purchase season tickets by calling (440) 824-3434, toll free at (888) 891-1999 or online at ClevelandBrowns.com. The Cleveland Browns ticket office is located on the south side of FirstEnergy Stadium, and is open Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. – 5:30 p.m.
