NBC Announces Other Hosts for Winter Olympics Coverage

NBC Sports announced today that Dan Patrick, Rebecca Lowe, and Lester Holt will play roles as host to parts of its Winter Olympics coverage this February from Sochi, Russia.

Patrick and Lowe will host NBC Sports Network’s (NBCSN) live weekday and weekend coverage of the games while Holt will serve as host of NBC’s weekday afternoon coverage.

“We are excited to add Dan, Rebecca and Lester to our roster of anchors,” said Jim Bell, Executive Producer, NBC Olympics. “With wide-ranging experience, they will provide NBC and NBCSN viewers with news, insight and storytelling.”

Patrick, Lowe, and Holt join Bob Costas, NBC’s primetime and late night host, and Al Michaels, who will serve as host for NBC on weekend afternoons and NBCSN on weekdays.

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Costas to Host Primetime and Late Night Sochi Olympics Coverage

It looks like NBC will be asking more from its biggest sports personality for the 2014 Sochi Olympics.  Today the network announced that Bob Costas will host both the network’s primetime and late night coverage of the Winter Games this February.

Costas will be serving as primetime host for the 10th time in Sochi.  He recently served as host of both primetime and late night telecasts in 2000.

“With unmatched experience in the host chair, Bob’s historical perspective and expertise will serve as a foundation for our Sochi coverage both in primetime and late night,” said Jim Bell, Executive Producer of NBC Olympics. “There is no one better than Bob to lead us in telling the stories of the athletes and competition that captivate fans around the world.”

“The Olympics are a unique television event,” Costas said. “They involve classic sports coverage, of course, but also many elements of storytelling and travelogue aspects that are not part of the usual sports broadcast. They are a three-week miniseries which, if done well, should bring viewers not only compelling athletic performances, but a sense of the host city and country, and an appreciation of what is a truly global gathering.”

NBC Sports Announces Olympics Coverage for MSNBC, CNBC and USA

NBC Sports announced yesterday its plans for coverage of curling and hockey on MSNBC, CNBC, and USA Network at next year’s Winter Olympics in Sochi.  The three networks will combine for 124 hours of coverage of the two sports.

From NBC Sports PR:

CNBC

CNBC — NBCUniversal’s fully distributed cable business channel — will present a daily curling program during the Sochi Olympics. The channel will televise 36 hours of curling coverage, including the men’s and women’s finals, over 12 days, beginning Monday, Feb. 10 and concluding Friday, Feb. 21. CNBC’s curling show will air daily from 5-8 p.m. ET from Feb. 10-21, except for Sunday, Feb. 16, when coverage will air from 4-7 p.m. ET.

MSNBC

MSNBC, NBCUniversal’s 24/7 cable news channel that is fully distributed in roughly 100 million homes, will carry 45 hours of live Olympic hockey and curling programming over 12 days. MSNBC’s 2014 Olympic Winter Games coverage from Sochi begins on Saturday, Feb. 8 with live women’s hockey featuring Canada-Switzerland at 8 a.m. ET, and concludes onWednesday, Feb. 19.

MSNBC will telecast live hockey on 11 of its 12 days, including medal round games. The network will also feature curling coverage, highlighted by men’s and women’s semifinals on Wednesday, Feb. 19.

USA NETWORK

USA Network, the #1 network in all of basic cable for an unprecedented seven straight years and seen in more than 100 million U.S. homes, will present live hockey and live curling during the 2014 Sochi Games, including medal rounds of both sports and three men’s hockey games featuring Team Canada.

The channel will televise 43 hours of live coverage over nine days starting on Monday, Feb. 10 with live women’s curling featuring U.S.-Switzerland. Men’s hockey coverage includes three games featuring Team Canada, including a matchup onSunday Feb. 16 between Canada-Finland, the gold and bronze medal-winning teams at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Games.

Coverage will air on USA Network in the mornings and afternoons with exact times varying from day to day.

 

Sports Media Weekly No. 167- Steve Lepore, Awful Announcing & Adam Schein, CBS Sports

The MLB Playoffs are in full gear and so is another edition of Sports Media Weekly.

Joining Ken Fang of Fang’s Bites and me to discuss the news of the week is Steve Lepore, newly-hired writer for Awful Announcing.

We begin the program looking at the successes thus far of TBS on its coverage of Major League Baseball’s postseason.  The numbers for the network are higher than 2012, even without an appearance by the New York Yankees.

Next we look at the emergence of the NBC Sports Network (NBCSN) as the leader when it comes to televising the NHL.  Since the time NBCSN was known as OLN and Versus the network has found its niche in being the United States home for hockey.

We wrap up the segment by looking at the impact of how Peyton Manning’s hot start has been reflected in the early-season NFL ratings.

Ken takes over the second half of the show speaking with CBS Sports host Adam Schein. Ken talks with Adam about his work on That Other Postgame Show, NFL Monday QB, and SiriusXM Radio.

Michaels, Anton Ohno Added to NBC Winter Olumpics COverage

NBC Sports announced yesterday that Al Michaels will once again be playing the role as host for the 2014 Winter Olympics while famed speed skater Apolo Anton Ohno will be added to the roster of analysts for the event in Sochi.

Michaels will host daytime Winter Olympics coverage on NBC Sports Network weekdays and NBC during the day on weekends. Michaels served as host of NBC’s weekend and weekday daytime coverage from London (2012) and Vancouver (2010).

Ohno will serve as analyst for the network’s coverage of short track speed skating, while also working on features and offering studio commentary during NBC’s extensive Olympic coverage.

“We are excited to have two Olympic icons in their own right on board to play an integral role in our Sochi coverage,” said Jim Bell, Executive Producer of NBC Olympics. “Al’s historical perspective and expertise will serve as a foundation for NBC Sports Group’s live daytime coverage, while Apolo will bring a fresh off-the-ice and pop culture perspective.”

Sports Media Weekly No. 137- Neil Best, Newsday & Kevin Harlan, Dial Global Radio

Welcome to the post-Super Bowl edition of Sports Media Weekly.

Ken Fang of Fang’s Bites and I are joined for our “Third Man In” segment by Neil Best, sports media and business columnist for Newsday.  We spend most of our time dissecting the work done by CBS on Super Bowl XLVII.  We look at the network’s handling of the power outage, the sub-par performance by Phil Simms, and the ratings for the game.

We then shift our focus to the announcement this week by NBC on its planned coverage of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia.  We talk about how NBC will not deviate much in its coverage of the Games based on its success at last year’s Summer Games in London.

We wrap-up our news segment looking at the announcement by Fox Sports that play-by-play man Gus Johnson will be taking the lead role in the network’s international soccer coverage, including the World Cup.  Johnson will begin calling soccer matches next week.

Ken had the opportunity to speak to our second guest this week, Kevin Harlan of Dial Global Sports.  Kevin was in the booth for the radio broadcast of the Super Bowl in New Orleans when the power went out in the Superdome.  He recounts what took place and how he kept the broadcast going by reporting on the events via telephone, audio of which is included in the interview courtesy of Dial Global.

NBC Begins to Layout Plans for 2014 Sochi Olympics

NBC Sports today began unveiling its plans for the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia.

The big news of today’s announcement was that NBC plans to begin live primetime coverage of events at the Games the night prior to the Opening Ceremony.  The Games on NBC will begin on Thursday, February 6th with the Opening Ceremony to be held on Friday, February 7th.

Team figure skating and men’s and women’s slopestyle snowboarding, which are new Olympic events, along with women’s freestyle moguls, begin the day before the Opening Ceremony, and will be featured during NBC’s primetime coverage on Thursday, February 6, 2014.

“Our recent Olympic coverage has clearly demonstrated that the viewer’s appetite for Olympic content continues to grow,” said Mark Lazarus, Chairman, NBC Sports Group. “Due to the new events, it’s our pleasure to provide an 18^th night of primetime coverage, a first in Olympic history that will benefit viewers, advertisers, affiliates, and all of our Olympic constituents.”

At 8:00 p.m. ET/PT tomorrow, nearly all of NBC’s 19 broadcast and cable networks will air a 60-second promo for the 2014 Sochi Olympic Winter Games.  You can view the promo at NBCOlympics.com.

Tomorrow’s Today Show will include a transformation outside its studios in New York to showcase events as a preview to the Games.