Comcast SportsNet has seen a some of its longest-tenured on-air talent depart over the past year, which continued on Thursday when Ron Burke left the station. Outside of a brief stint away at NBATV, Burke has been with CSN since its inception in 1997.
“We thank Ron for his hard work and contributions over the years,” Comcast SportsNet said in an email. “His professionalism and his passion will be missed.”
Burke came to Philadelphia in 1988 to work as a sports anchor at Channel 10 when he was just 24 years old. On Thursday, he took to Twitter after his final time on-air at CSN to film a farewell message of sorts:
“Broadcasting sports in Philadelphia has been a tremendously rewarding experience for me,” Burke said. “I’ve met so many people. I reported to fan base that loves it from January to December and all over again. It’s a great place to work in sports, and I thank you for your support and as being as passionate and as engaging and embracing as you have been.”
Burke is the latest big name to leave the station in the past 12 months, as Leslie Gudel and Neil Hartman also parted ways with CSN after long runs:
On a personal note, Burke was the first face I ever saw on this revolutionary new thing called "Comcast SportsNet" when I was just a kid. As it turned out, he and the station have been an integral part of the sports scene in Philadelphia since then. He will be missed.
Follow Rich on Twitter: @rich_hofmann