Ernest Thorwald Johnson Jr. (born August 7, 1956) is an American sportscaster for Warner Bros. Discovery Sports. Johnson is currently the television voice and a studio host for Major League Baseball on TBS, hosts Inside the NBA for TNT, and NBA TV and contributes to the joint coverage of the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament for Warner Bros. Discovery Sports and CBS Sports. His father was Ernie Johnson Sr., a Major League Baseball pitcher and Atlanta Braves play-by-play announcer.
Early life
Johnson was born in 1956 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. His father, Ernie Johnson Sr. (1924–2011), was a Major League Baseball player who later became a television sports commentator. Johnson's family moved to Atlanta, Georgia, after his father's retirement from professional baseball in 1964 when Ernie was eight years old.
Johnson attended high school at the Marist School, a private Catholic school in Brookhaven, Georgia, and graduated in 1974. He then went to the University of Georgia and majored in journalism. Johnson played first base on the Bulldogs baseball team his freshman year. He graduated from Georgia in 1978 with a Bachelor of Arts, summa cum laude.
Career
During college, Johnson got his first sportscasting job as the news and sports director for the radio station WAGQ-FM in Athens, Georgia.
In 1979, Johnson was hired as a news anchor at WMAZ-TV in Macon, Georgia. He worked there as a news anchor until 1981, when he worked as a news reporter in Spartanburg, South Carolina, at WSPA-TV. Johnson worked in Atlanta at WSB-TV as a general assignment news reporter in 1982. He became the station's weekend sports anchor and reporter in 1983. He held those jobs until 1989, when he left to join Turner Sports.
From 1993 to 1996, Johnson called Atlanta Braves baseball games for SportSouth (now Bally Sports South) with his father, Ernie Johnson Sr.
Warner Bros. Discovery Sports
NBA on TNT
Known as "E.J.", Johnson works as the studio host for TNT's coverage of the NBA, including pregame and halftime shows, and the network's famous postgame studio show that airs after each NBA doubleheader, Inside the NBA. He has hosted the show since 1990.
At the end of each broadcast, Ernie presents "E.J.'s Neat-O Stat of the Night", which has become a popular part of the show but is sponsored by no one, hence the sign that says "Your logo here". This changed in May 2007 when vitaminwater stepped in as a sponsor for the segment, replaced by Panasonic's Viera line of televisions for 2008. For the 2005–2006 season, his segments were sponsored by Intel Centrino and most recently Suzuki. In the 2008 NBA Playoffs, his segments were presented by Geico and vitaminwater.
For all NBA-related shows, Johnson is joined by former NBA stars Kenny Smith, Charles Barkley, Shaquille O'Neal and, on occasion, Chris Webber, Grant Hill, or Reggie Miller. In the 2012–2013 regular season he was joined by Anfernee "Penny" Hardaway and Dennis Scott while Smith and Barkley covered March Madness on CBS.
Johnson is also the host of Tuesday Fan Night on sister station NBA TV, alongside Webber and Greg Anthony. He is also the host and moderator of NBA TV's Open Court, a basketball-panel show featuring Johnson and a rotation of six panelists (all of whom are made up of TNT's NBA analysts) discussing various topics, ranging from the history of the NBA to the current day scene of the league.
In October 2022, Johnson signed a long-term contract extension with Warner Bros. Discovery Sports to continue as a host on Inside the NBA.
Non-NBA assignments
In addition to working basketball, Johnson is also the play-by-play announcer for TNT's PGA Tour coverage. At TBS, Johnson worked as the studio host for their coverage of college football. In 2002, Johnson was co-winner of the Sports Emmy for Outstanding Sports Personality, Studio Host, tying with Bob Costas of NBC and HBO. It was the first time Johnson had been nominated for a Sports Emmy. In 2006, Johnson won the award again, this time on his own, snapping Costas's six-year stranglehold on it, including the year the two shared the honor. From 2007 to 2009, Johnson worked as the studio host alongside Cal Ripken Jr. for TBS's coverage of Major League Baseball. In 2010, he moved into a play-by-play role for the network, serving as the lead broadcaster for TBS's playoff coverage, including the 2010 ALCS. He also broadcast 40 Atlanta Braves games on sister channel Peachtree TV. In 2020, Johnson moved back into a studio host for the network's pregame and postgame show while continuing his play-by-play role for TBS's coverage of Major League Baseball.