Candace Buckner

candace.buckner@indystar.com

The Indiana Pacers' broadcasts on Fox Sports Indiana will have a different look this season.

Brooke Olzendam, the Pacers TV host and sideline reporter since 2011, has been replaced by Jeremiah Johnson. The change in the broadcast team, with Johnson hosting the pregame and postgame shows, will be seen when Fox Sports Indiana airs its first of two preseason games on Oct. 15.

On Friday, Jamie Berns, Vice President of broadcasting for Pacers Sports and Entertainment, said the team and the network decided not to renew Olzendam's contract during the offseason.

"Brooke's contract was up and we had discussions with Brooke's agent about her coming back," Berns said, "but in the end, the Pacers and Fox decided to go in a different direction."

Johnson, a Peru, Ind. native and Ball State graduate, returns as an on-camera talent after spending last year behind the scenes producing pregame Pacers shows as well as collecting postgame interviews in the locker room.

"I'm excited, I grew up in Indiana as a lifelong Pacers fan. I always had a passion for the teams in Indiana," Johnson told The Star. "This is a dream job and I'm thrilled about the opportunity."

Previously, Johnson worked at Fox 59 in Indianapolis as a sports anchor and reporter for nearly nine years and has done sideline reporting for IHSAA events.

"He's been in the market for a long, long time, (a) very experienced sports journalist," Berns said, "and he did a great job for us last year as the pregame producer."

Fox Sports Indiana will broadcast 80 of the 82 regular-season games this season. The Pacers are scheduled to play twice on TNT, so the cable network has exclusive rights to the pair of games on Jan. 29 (New York Knicks at Pacers) and April 14 (Washington Wizards at Pacers). Also, Fox Sports Indiana will televise two preseason games – the meeting with the LeBron James' led Cleveland Cavaliers in Cincinnati and the Oct. 18 home game against the Dallas Mavericks.

Besides the switch with announcers, Berns said that former NBA player Scot Pollard will split pregame and postgame analyst duties with Fever head coach Stephanie White. Pollard played 11 seasons in the NBA including the three with the Pacers from 2003-2006.

Follow Star reporter Candace Buckner on Twitter: @CandaceDBuckner.