Larry Ridley, sports director for Orlando NBC affiliate WESH, has gone national, but not for his reporting.
Orlando Sentinel TV critic Hal Boedeker reports, Ridley appears in a Bud Light commercial. A quick check of his twitter feed @mrlarryridley also tells TVSpy, Ridley has a role as a pregame and halftime show announcer in EA Sports video game “Madden NFL 15.”
Sources close to Ridley tell TVSpy Bob Longo, the previous news director, gave Ridley the OK to appear in both the spot and the video game. Longo tells TVSpy, “There was no permission given, verbal or written, to do any commercial.”
We asked WESH GM Jim Carter for comment, but haven’t heard back. We will update when we do.
Local sports director Larry Ridley leads an all-new intro sequence before games, calling out specific matchups and other tidbits to keep an eye on during the game. The halftime show also includes broadcast-style graphics, as well as a fantasy ticker with player stats on the bottom of the screen.
During halftime, Larry will also break down some of the game’s highlights with all-new audio recordings
Here’s one of Ridley’s tweets talking about his work with EA Sports. The plaque says “Larry J. Ridley, PreGame and Halftime Commentary”
Thanks guys @EASports @EAMaddenNFL for the plaque #Orlando #NFL #Patriots #Titans #TitanUp pic.twitter.com/yI0YXCwt6D
— Larry Ridley (@mrlarryridley) October 26, 2014