This comes from NBC which announces that the Holy Diminutive One, Bob Costas, will once again host the primetime portion of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, a warm water port city in Russia that averages 49-50 degrees in February.
This will be the 10th time that Costas will host primetime for NBC dating back to 1992 in the Barcelona Games and it marks the 8th consecutive Olympiad in doing so. In addition to primetime, Costas will also host the late night portion for the first time since 2000 in Sydney. And he also was the late night host in Seoul, South Korea in 1988 (Bryant Gumbel was the primetime host Seoul for NBC).
Primetime is where NBC will shovel a lot of events from earlier in the day. Late night will give Bob the opportunity for more in-depth interviews and maybe one or two “Get off my lawn” commentaries.
As much as I tease Costas, there’s no doubt that Olympic host is one of his signature roles and he does it very well.
Here’s the official announcement.
BOB COSTAS TO HOST BOTH PRIMETIME & LATE NIGHT FOR NBC’S SOCHI WINTER OLYMPICS COVERAGE
Costas Hosts Olympics in Primetime for Record 10th Time
STAMFORD – November 20, 2013 — NBC Olympics announced today that Bob Costas will serve as host for NBC’s primetime and late night coverage of the 2014 Sochi Winter Games.
Costas has served as primetime host for every Olympics on NBC since 1992, including the 2012 London Games, which was the most-watched television event in U.S. history with more than 217 million viewers.
With the 2014 assignment, Costas becomes U.S. television’s first 10-time Olympic primetime host (Jim McKay hosted eight times for ABC). This is the second time that Costas will host both the primetime and late night shows (2000 Sydney Olympics). Costas also served as NBC’s late night host at the 1988 Seoul Olympics
“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.”
A 25-time Emmy Award winner, Costas is one of the most respected and honored broadcasters of his generation and has handled a wide array of assignments, including play-by-play, studio hosting and reporting. He serves as the host of the critically acclaimed and most-watched NFL studio show Football Night in America, an exclusive and complete look at each Sunday in the NFL. He also hosted pre-game coverage on NBC for Super Bowl XLVI, the most-watched program in U.S. television history.
Costas, who has the longest tenure of the network’s sports announcers (34 years), co-hosts NBC’s coverage of the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes, and Belmont Stakes. One of America’s preeminent interviewers, Costas hosts Costas Tonight, an interview show that airs on NBCSN. He also contributes to a variety of NBC News programs, including NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams and TODAY. He also handles play-by-play duties and is a commentator for MLB Network.
And when the talent roster for Sochi is announced, I’ll be sure to post it immediately.
