In a very good move, NBC has hired NHL Network host Kathyrn Tappen to become a host/reporter. Tappen got national notice during the 2014 Sochi Olympics when she hosted from the hockey venue for NBC. She’s had quite the meteoric rise since beginning way back when in Providence, RI for WJAR-TV when she was the weekend sports anchor there in the mid-2000’s.
NESN took notice and hired her to work there. She became the host for Boston Bruins games and left after the 2010-11 season to join NHL Network as a host on NHL Tonight.
During the 2014 Olympics, NBC used her as a host along with Liam McHugh on men’s and women’s hockey. And she was utilized during the NHL Playoffs on NBCSN.
Now full-time with NBC, Tappen will be the new sideline reporter for Notre Dame Football replacing Alex Flanagan, a reporter on Football Night in America (again replacing Flanagan) and she’ll be on NBC’s coverage of Super Bowl XLIX in Phoenix as well as staying with her hockey roots on the NHL on NBC. She will also have assignments at the 2016 and 2018 Olympics.
In addition, Tappen will remain with NHL Network as a host.
Here’s the announcement.
KATHRYN TAPPEN JOINS NBC SPORTS GROUP
Experienced Host & Reporter Will Contribute to NHL Live, Football Night in America, Notre Dame Football & More
Tappen to Join Coverage from Super Bowl XLIX, 2016 Rio Olympics & 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics
Tappen will continue on NHL Network’s Coverage of Signature NHL EventsSTAMFORD, Conn. – July 9, 2014 – Kathryn Tappen is joining NBC Sports Group to work on NHL Live, Football Night in America, Notre Dame Football, and to host additional studio programming, NBC Sports Group announced today. She will also be part of NBC Sports’ coverage from Super Bowl XLIX in January-February 2015, and NBC Olympics’ coverage of the Games of the XXXI Olympiad from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in August 2016 and the XXIII Olympic Winter Games from Pyeongchang, South Korea, in February 2018.
“With extensive studio and reporting experience as well as in-depth knowledge of the NHL, Kathryn is the perfect fit for our growing stable of properties and programs,” said Sam Flood, Executive Producer, NBC Sports & NBCSN.
Additionally, Tappen will continue to appear as a personality on NHL Network. The lead host of NHL Network’s flagship studio show NHL Tonight since 2011, Tappen will be part of the network’s coverage of signature NHL events — including the Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic, NHL All-Star Game, Stanley Cup Playoffs and Stanley Cup Final — as well as other NHL Network programs.
“I’m thrilled to be joining the NBC Sports team and to work on some of the most high-profile events in sports,” said Tappen. “This opportunity represents the best of both worlds as I can continue to work on hockey, including signature events for NHL Network, while also covering sports that I’ve worked on in the past and have had a passion for since childhood, such as the Olympics, the NFL and college football.”
As a hockey studio host with seven years of experience at NHL Network and NESN, as well as for NBC Olympics in Sochi earlier this year, Tappen will serve as a host for NHL Live and NHL Overtime, NBC Sports Group’s pre-game, intermission, and post-game NHL studio programs. Liam McHugh is NBC Sports Group’s lead NHL studio host. Tappen is also expected to fill in as host for additional NBC Sports studio programs.
She will also contribute her award-winning reporting skills to Football Night in America and to Notre Dame Football. For Football Night, the most-watched studio show in sports, Tappen will serve as the on-site reporter covering the high-profile afternoon game. She will share these duties throughout the season with Alex Flanagan and Carolyn Manno. At Notre Dame, Tappen will report from the sidelines for all Fighting Irish games that air on NBC.
Her first assignment comes August 30 when Notre Dame hosts Rice in the Irish’s first game of the 2014 season.
MORE ON KATHRYN TAPPEN
Tappen is not new to NBC Sports. She served as a studio host for men’s and women’s ice hockey during the Sochi Winter Olympics, and filled in for McHugh at times during the 2014 Stanley Cup Playoffs by hosting NHL Live.
She joined the NHL Network in 2011 as the host of NHL Tonight, the network’s nightly highlight show. Previously, Tappen spent five years with the New England Sports Network where she served as lead studio host for Boston Bruins games and as a reporter on the Red Sox, Patriots and Celtics. She was a weekend anchor as well as a weekday sports reporter at NBC affiliate WJAR in Providence, R.I., and began her career in 2003 at College Sports Television.
In 2006, Tappen earned an Associated Press award for her sports feature “Swim Meet.” Her sports-feature reporting has been nominated for two Boston/New England Emmy Awards by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.
Tappen was Academic-All American at Rutgers University (N.J.) where she was a member of the track and field and cross country team. During her career as a Scarlet Knight, she was a Big East Academic All-Star and the former record holder in the women’s 3000-meter steeplechase.
That is all.
