Matt Winer Officially Picked Up By Turner Sports

It was a rumored before the holidays that Matt Winer had done his last ESPN broadcast (credit to Bill Simmons Twitter), and that he was heading to Turner Sports to do Basketball. Well today we found out that not only is that true, but he'll also be working MLB, Golf and NASCAR for the network....

Turner Sports announced today that they have signed veteran broadcaster Matt Winer to a multi-year agreement to serve as a studio host on NBA TV multiple nights a week and various Turner Sports properties which include Major League Baseball, NASCAR, the NBA, and professional golf. Winer will appear in studio for various programs on NBA TV throughout the regular season, including the network’s shoulder programming for the 2010 NBA All-Star Game and coverage for the NBA Playoffs and NBA Draft. Winer, who is scheduled to start the week of January 18, will also contribute to NBA.com.

“We are very happy to welcome Matt to the Turner Sports family and look forward to his debut on NBA TV,” said Jeff Behnke, SVP and executive producer for Turner Sports. “Matt is the epitome of professionalism and we are excited to add his talents to our telecasts.”

“Turner Sports has given me a fantastic opportunity to grow as a broadcaster,” said Winer. “I look forward to focusing on their core sports and working with some of the most respected professionals in TV. I can't wait to get going in Atlanta.”

Previously, Winer spent more than eight years with ESPN serving as a SportsCenter anchor and studio host for numerous shows including NBA Fastbreak, NBA Coast-to-Coast, NBA Shootaround and coverage of MLB, NASCAR and the NFL. Winer was also the update anchor for ABC’s College Football Scoreboard.

It's great to see TNT/Turner Sports expanding their studio team(s) in this way. Winer has always done a great job on Basketball, and I think he'll work out in the other Sports just fine. It's also interesting to see ESPN lose another high profile anchor from their stable, and to finally get some competition. At this pace, they'll be left with Chris Berman, and a bunch of semi-talented ex-players, for their studio shows.