Mike Tirico: Celebs Rumors

Snoop Dogg, Kelly Clarkson, Mike Tirico and Jimmy Fallon have in common? This is not a joke — at least not to the leaders of NBC­ Universal and a small army of NBC Sports producers hunkered down at offices in Stamford, Conn., and Paris, France. The answer is the Paris Olympics, which will be telecast in the U.S. with a markedly different approach this summer.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor Add “Call Her Daddy” podcast host Alex Cooper to the list of non-traditional commentators taking part in NBCUniversal’s activities around the 2024 Paris Olympics. Cooper will lead “Watch with Alex Cooper,” a series of interactive watch parties that will stream on NBCU’s Peacock during Olympics activity.

Kelly Clarkson and Peyton Manning are joining the NBC Olympics team to host the Opening Ceremony of the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad in Paris this summer.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor NBCUniversal is testing a new game for the Paris Olympics. The Comcast-backed media conglomerate has for years launched every Summer Games with primetime coverage of the Opening Ceremonies that typically feature a top sportscaster like Mike Tirico or Bob Costas alongside a popular news anchor such as Savannah Guthrie or Katie Couric.

 Look who’s become a sportscaster!

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor Mike Tirico will have an unusual new partner for NBCUniversal’s looming coverage of the 2024 Paris Olympics. Rapper and actor Snoop Dogg will be on hand during the event to provide regular reports for NBC”s primetime Olympics program, starting July 26 of next year on both the broadcast network and the Peacock streaming hub. Snoop Dogg is slated to offer his unique take on what’s happening at the athletic extravaganza and will be seen exploring landmarks as well as holding forth with various competitors.

Rebecca Lowe will be kicking around at NBC Sports for at least another six years. The longtime soccer host posted on social media today that she has re-upped at the network through the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.

.”“Revered by viewers and colleagues, Al has been the soundtrack for many of the greatest moments in sports television history,” said Bevacqua. “We are thrilled that he’s staying in the family and raising the stature of our events for years to come.”“I’m looking forward to continuing my longtime NBC relationship while also launching the Thursday Night Football package on Amazon this fall,” Michaels said.

NBC Sports said Thursday that Maria Taylor will be the new host of Football Night in America, NBC’s weekly studio show that leads into the network’s Sunday Night Football.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorNBC viewers were already seeing a lot of Maria Taylor on Sundays. Now they can be assured of seeing even more.Taylor, the up-and-coming sportscaster who left ESPN last year for NBC Sports, was named host of “Football Night in America,” the show that precedes “Sunday Night Football” and garners one of the network’s biggest weekly audiences.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorLegendary football player Tom Brady will join Fox Sports as part of a multi-year deal once he ends his NFL career, lending the company a potential new boost after it lost mainstay announcers Joe Buck and Troy Aikman to ESPN.The news was disclosed by Fox Corporation CEO Lachlan Murdoch during an investor call. The executive said Brady’s arrival at Fox Sports remained uncertain, as the decision about when to walk off the playing field would be left up to the athlete.

NBC announced last month that Mike Tirico would replace the legendary Al Michaels as the voice of Sunday Night Football. Now, the network has revealed the rest of the team.

After the legendary Al Michaels all but confirmed his move to Amazon to call games as part of the streamer’s new NFL package, NBC announced today that Mike Tirico will “join Cris Collinsworth full-time in the booth this season” for Sunday Night Football. The announcement would seem to confirm Michaels’ exit.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorVeteran sportscaster Mike Tirico will join NBC’s “Sunday Night Football” next fall, pairing up with analyst Cris Collinsworth in the latest shake up among the announcers who call the plays of TV’s most-watched sport.Tirico fills a spot left vacant by the departure of Al Michaels, who is expected to join Amazon to call “Thursday Night Football.”“When Mike joined NBC Sports in 2016, it was our plan for him to become our primetime Olympics host and the play-by-play voice of Sunday Night Football,” said Pete Bevacqua, chairman of NBC Sports, in a statement. “We are excited to have Mike join Cris Collinsworth full-time in the booth this season.”NBC confirms speculation about the future of its “Sunday Night Football” booth with an NFL meeting slated to take place later this week.

It’s early days at the XXIV Olympic Winter Games, but NBC must already be praying for some Gold medal glory or the Super Bowl to give them a boost. Right now, coming off record low viewership in the first night of primetime coverage, the billions the Comcast-owned network fork out to broadcast the Games until 2032 isn’t looking like money well spent.

Daniel D'Addario Chief TV CriticOn the first day of the Olympic Games, the “Today” show had an unenviable task.The flagship NBC morning show is a key engine for goosing excitement over the Olympics, and its Friday-morning broadcast recapping the just-concluded opening ceremony in Beijing was intended, in part, to boost the Games. But the show’s flagship talent, Hoda Kotb and Savannah Guthrie, were stuck stateside in light of COVID-19, and the happy chatter about athletes’ prospects in the days ahead was balanced with an unusual volume of conversation about geopolitics.

Savannah Guthrie has shared a rare behind-the-scenes moment with fans as she prepares for the 2022 Winter Olympics on NBC.MORE: Savannah Guthrie shares throwback baby bump photo during touching on-air tributeThe Today Show star will host the NBC coverage of the Opening Ceremony from New York after it was confirmed that the anchors would not be sent to China over continuing COVID-19 concerns, and she took to social media to share a video taken from behind the cameras.WATCH: Today Show's Savannah Guthrie shares rare behind-the-scenes moment with fans ahead of new projectSavannah was joined by former Olympian Lindsey Vonn for studio rehearsals, with Lindsey sharing a video and Savannah later resharing it.The mom-of-two also posted several pictures from the green room, captioning the post: "Getting ready!MORE: Savannah Guthrie shares incredible family photo featuring her rarely-seen siblingsSavannah was sent to Tokyo in 2021 for the delayed 2020 Summer Olympics but the team will mostly report from the studio's Stamford facility and 30 Rock in Manhattan.Today anchor Craig Melvin will represent the morning show in Beijing across the two weeks, while Mike Tirico will also be in the Chinese city for the Opening Ceremony and the first few days of the game.A post shared by Savannah Guthrie (@savannahguthrie)On Wednesday Team USA announced that John Shuster and Brittany Bowe will carry the American flag at Friday's Winter Olympics opening ceremony.John, 39, will make history as the first curler to carry the flag during the opening ceremony.

NBC Sports this week made the not-too-surprising announcement that much of its Beijing Olympics team would be covering next month’s Winter Games from afar, in Stamford, CT, as the Covid pandemic once again disrupts the event.

Covid-19 concerns have led NBC Sports to keep most of its announcing teams at home for the upcoming Beijing Winter Olympics, according to a report.

In a video presentation released this afternoon, NBCUniversal executives touted their rare February combo of the Super Bowl and the Winter Olympics while only briefly touching on the “complicated” situation in Beijing.

withdrawing from the gymnastics team competition at the Tokyo Olympics on Tuesday, Simone Biles will also miss her chance to defend another one of her gold medals on Thursday, as it was announced late Wednesday that she will be withdrawing from the individual all-around competition. NBC's Mike Tirico made the announcement during the re-airing of the team competition, sharing the message from USA Gymnastics that, «After further medical evaluation, to focus on her mental health, it has been announced that Simone Biles is out of the all-around.»USA Gymnastics shared a more detailed statement on social media, sharing their support for Biles' decision.

Michael Phelps is standing by Simone Biles. Following the iconic gymnast's shocking withdrawal from the team gymnastics competition at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics on Tuesday, Phelps shared his thoughts about her decision to prioritize her mental health.Phelps — who is serving as a TV analyst for NBC during this year's Olympics — opened up to host Mike Tirico about how he understands and appreciates the monumental pressure and mental strain that is placed on athletes like Biles and others.«The easiest way for me to say this is athletes, and Olympic athletes in general… we need someone who we can trust, somebody that can let us be ourselves and listen.

Two days after it was announced she was parting ways with ESPN, the network’s former NBA Finals pregame and halftime host made her debut on NBC, doing Olympics coverage, no less.

NBC News unveiled its plans for coverage of the upcoming Olympics, with Today and NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt planning to broadcast from Tokyo.

A majority of Japanese citizens oppose the Olympics to go ahead in Tokyo due to the coronavirus pandemic, but NBC insists the Games will go on, at least for now.

By Brian Steinberg

By Thomas Tapp