The Pro Bowl is the All-Star equivalent of the other major US sports leagues such as the NBA, MLB, and the NHL. It brings together the best players of the game and pits them against each other. While there is no real value to the game, it does provide an entertainment value, especially considering that the NFL season is mostly over by then, except for the Super Bowl. The format has changed throughout the years. However, due to a lack of interest and lower television ratings, the NFL switched it to a non-contact flag football game in 2023. Since then, both Manning brothers have led the NFC and AFC during Pro Bowl games with Eli Manning beating his older brother Peyton for a third consecutive time in the 2025 Pro Bowl, as per CBS Sports.
Pro Bowl Broadcasters
In the 1950s, NBC was the one that broadcast four Pro Bowls while a network known as DuMont broadcast the 1954 Pro Bowl. There were multiple years in this period when the Pro Bowl was not televised. From 1960 onwards, televising the Pro Bowl has remained a constant and NBC had the rights for the first six years followed by CBS who also televised the event for another six years. NBC and CBS alternated for the next three years before ABC took over from 1975 all the way to 1987.
1988 saw ESPN jump into the mix and this network earned the right to televise the Pro Bowl till 1994 after which ABC once again regained the rights for another nine years. From the mid-2000s onwards, ESPN, NBC, Fox, CBS, ABC, and Disney XD have all held rights to the event. The latest Pro Bowl in 2025 was broadcast by ESPN/ABC and Disney XD.
List of Pro Bowl Broadcasters
| Year | Network | Announcer 1 | Announcer 2 |
| 1951 | Not televised | ||
| 1952 | NBC | Harry Wismer | Bill Stern |
| 1953 | Bud Foster | Mark Scott | |
| 1954 | DuMont | Tom Harmon | Red Grange |
| 1955 | Not televised | ||
| 1956 | |||
| 1957 | |||
| 1958 | NBC | Joe Tucker | Van Patrick |
| 1959 | Jim Gibbons | ||
| 1960 | Bob Kelley | Ray Scott | |
| 1961 | Lindsey Nelson | Frankie Albert | |
| 1962 | Chuck Thompson | ||
| 1963 | Chuck Thompson | Ken Coleman | |
| 1964 | Chris Schenkel | George Connor | |
| 1965 | Ken Coleman | Gordie Soltau | |
| 1966 | CBS | Jack Drees | Frank Gifford |
| 1967 | Lindsey Nelson | Pat Summerall | |
| 1968 | Jack Buck | Tom Brookshier | |
| 1969 | Jack Whitaker | Pat Summerall | |
| 1970 | Don Criqui | Frank Gifford | |
| 1971 | Jack Whitaker | ||
| 1972 | NBC | Curt Gowdy | Al DeRogatis |
| 1973 | CBS | Frank Glieber | Alex Hawkins |
| 1974 | NBC | Curt Gowdy | Al DeRogatis |
| 1975 | ABC | Frank Gifford | Howard Cosell and Alex Karras |
| 1976 | |||
| 1977 | |||
| 1978 | Howard Cosell and Don Meredith | ||
| 1979 | |||
| 1980 | Al Michaels | Howard Cosell and Fran Tarkenton | |
| 1981 | Frank Gifford | ||
| 1982 | Al Michaels | Fran Tarkenton | |
| 1983 | Frank Gifford | Howard Cosell and Fran Tarkenton | |
| 1984 | O. J. Simpson | ||
| 1985 | Don Meredith | ||
| 1986 | O. J. Simpson and Joe Namath | ||
| 1987 | Al Michaels | Frank Gifford | |
| 1988 | ESPN | Mike Patrick | Roy Firestone and O. J. Simpson |
| 1989 | Joe Theismann | ||
| 1990 | |||
| 1991 | |||
| 1992 | |||
| 1993 | |||
| 1994 | |||
| 1995 | ABC | Al Michaels | Frank Gifford and Dan Dierdorf |
| 1996 | |||
| 1997 | |||
| 1998 | |||
| 1999 | Dan Dierdorf and Boomer Esiason | ||
| 2000 | Boomer Esiason | ||
| 2001 | Dan Fouts and Dennis Miller | ||
| 2002 | |||
| 2003 | Dan Fouts | ||
| 2004 | ESPN | Mike Patrick | Joe Theismann and Paul Maguire |
| 2005 | |||
| 2006 | |||
| 2007 | CBS | Greg Gumbel | Phil Simms and Dan Dierdorf |
| 2008 | Fox | Kenny Albert | Daryl Johnston |
| 2009 | NBC | Al Michaels | Cris Collinsworth |
| 2010 | ESPN | Mike Tirico | Ron Jaworski and Jon Gruden |
| 2011 | Fox | Thom Brennaman | Brian Billick and Terry Bradshaw |
| 2012 | NBC | Dan Hicks | Mike Mayock and Doug Flutie |
| 2013 | Al Michaels | Cris Collinsworth | |
| 2014 | |||
| 2015 | ESPN | Mike Tirico | Jon Gruden |
| 2016 | |||
| 2017 | Sean McDonough | ||
| 2018 | ESPN/ABC | Matt Hasselbeck | |
| 2019 | ESPN/ABC Disney XD | Joe Tessitore | Jason Witten and Booger McFarland |
| 2020 | Booger McFarland | ||
| 2021 | Not held because of the coronavirus pandemic | ||
| 2022 | ESPN/ABC | Steve Levy | Brian Griese, Louis Riddick, and Lisa Salters |
| 2023 | ESPN/ABC Disney XD | Pat McAfee | Kirk Herbstreit |
| 2024 | ESPN/ABC Disney XD | Scott Van Pelt | Dan Orlovsky |
| 2025 | ESPN/ABC Disney XD | Scott Van Pelt | Dan Orlovsky |
FAQs on Pro Bowl Broadcast
A. The first Pro Bowl was not televised.
A. Peyton Manning coached the AFC side during the matchup, while his brother Eli Manning coached the NFC (via CBS Sports).
A. The first official Pro Bowl game was played in January 1951.
