Posted on: Feb 03, 2022

The overall talent lineup features the return of many of the network’s signature Olympic hosts, play-by-play commentators and analysts with Olympic experience.

NBC Olympics commentator notes:

Mike Tirico serves as NBC Olympics’ primetime host for the third time, after hosting primetime coverage at the Tokyo Olympics last summer and the 2018 PyeongChang Olympic Winter Games. He will also host Prime Plus late-night coverage for the first week. NBC News’ Craig Melvin will host TODAY from Beijing and will serve as NBC’s on-site host over the middle weekend of the Games. Maria Taylor, who made her NBC Olympics debut in Tokyo, will host Prime Plus in the Games’ second week. Rebecca Lowe will serve as the host of NBC’s daytime coverage, marking her fifth assignment as an NBC Olympics host. Ahmed Fareed, Jimmy Roberts, Lindsay Czarniak and Jac Collinsworth will host coverage on USA Network, Carolyn Manno will host coverage on CNBC, and Kathryn Tappen will serve as a host in the second week of coverage.

Among the Olympians on Team NBC: three-time medalist, including gold in the downhill at the Vancouver Winter Olympics in 2010, Lindsey Vonn; 1998 Olympic figure skating gold medalist Tara Lipinski; S. Olympic ice dance silver medalist Tanith White; bronze medalist figure skater Ashley Wagner; 1984 figure skating gold medalist Scott Hamilton; 1988 figure skating gold medalist Brian Boitano; two-time alpine skiing Olympic gold medalist Ted Ligety; 1998 moguls gold medalist Jonny Moseley; three-time Olympic snowboarding medalist Kelly Clark; 2014 bronze medalist in luge Erin Hamlin; gold-medal winning cross country skier Kikkan Randall; Kevin Martin, who skipped Team Canada to gold at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics; 2018 Olympic curling gold medalist Tyler George; two-time Olympic moguls medalist Hannah Kearney; two-time short track speed skating medalist Katherine Adamek; three-time Nordic combined medalist Johnny Spillane; three-time speed skating medalist Joey Cheek, two-time snowboard cross gold medalist Seth Wescott, and 2010 Olympic bobsledder Bree Schaaf. Olympian hockey commentators include Monique Lamoureux-Morando, who won three Olympic medals, including a gold medal in 2018 with Team USA; two-time Team USA medalist AJ Mleczko; four-time Team USA medalist Angela Ruggiero; and 1984 Olympian Eddie Olczyk.

FOLLOWING IS A RUNDOWN OF NBC OLYMPICS’ ON-AIR & DIGITAL TEAM:

NBC, USA NETWORK & CNBC HOSTS:

MIKE TIRICO: In an unprecedented hosting double, Tirico will host the NBC Olympics primetime show in Beijing (beginning Thurs., Feb. 3) and Los Angeles, while also hosting the Super Bowl LVI pregame show from SoFi Stadium on Sunday, Feb. 13. The Beijing Olympics mark Tirico’s fourth assignment with NBC Olympics, having served as a daytime host on Copacabana Beach at the 2016 Rio Olympics and anchoring NBC Olympics’ primetime and late-night coverage of the 2018 PyeongChang Olympic Winter Games and Tokyo Olympics.

MARIA TAYLOR: Beginning in the second week, Taylor will host NBC Olympics’ late-night shows from NBC Sports Group’s International Broadcast Center in Stamford, Conn., marking her second Olympic assignment after making her Olympic debut in Tokyo. She will be working as a host for NBC Sports’ Super Bowl coverage during the first week of the Games.

CRAIG MELVIN: NBC News’ Melvin will serve as NBC’s on-site and Prime Plus host from Beijing in the middle weekend of the Olympics. Melvin, who will also host the TODAY show onsite from Beijing, previously served as a reporter for NBC Sports during the 2016 Rio Olympics.

REBECCA LOWE: Lowe serves as the daytime host for NBC Olympics’ coverage of the 2022 Winter Olympics, her fifth assignment as an Olympics host after making her debut in Sochi in 2014. Previously, Lowe served as the daytime host for the Tokyo Olympics, anchored daytime coverage on NBC in PyeongChang in 2018 and in Rio in 2016, and was an NBCSN host for Sochi 2014.

AHMED FAREED: Fareed will handle his fourth assignment for NBC Olympics, hosting coverage on USA Network. Previously, Fareed anchored daytime on USA Network during the Tokyo Olympics, and hosted NBCSN coverage during PyeongChang 2018. He made his NBC Olympics debut as a USA Network host for Rio 2016.

JIMMY ROBERTS: A 13-time Emmy Award-winning broadcaster and writer, Roberts will serve as a host on USA Network, marking his 19th Olympic assignment and 11th for NBC. Roberts reported on stories at last summer’s Tokyo Olympics, and has reported on Bode Miller in Vancouver, changes to Wimbledon for the Olympics in London, the legacy of Russian hockey from Sochi, and the incredible story of refugee athletes in Rio.

LINDSAY CZARNIAK: Czarniak, who for last summer’s Tokyo Olympics co-hosted On Her Turf at the Olympics on Peacock — the first NBC Olympics show dedicated to covering women’s sports — will host coverage of the 2022 Winter Olympics on USA Network. Czarniak was a host and sports desk reporter for NBC Olympics at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing and served as a reporter at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy.

JAC COLLINSWORTH: Collinsworth will handle his third assignment for NBC Olympics, hosting coverage on USA Network. Collinsworth previously served as an on-location contributor to Peacock’s Tokyo Tonight show last summer, and in 2016, served as NBC Olympics’ first-ever social media correspondent at the Rio Olympics.

CAROLYN MANNO: Manno will serve as host of coverage on CNBC, marking her sixth NBC Olympics assignment, and fourth as a host. During the Tokyo Olympics, Manno hosted coverage on Olympic Channel: Home of Team USA. Previously, Manno served as host for the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics and 2016 Rio Olympics, was a freestyle skiing reporter at the 2014 Sochi Games, and was a reporter on a wide-ranging number of assignments at the 2012 London Olympics.

KATHRYN TAPPEN: Tappen, in her fifth NBC Olympics assignment will serve as a host during the second week of coverage. She will be working as a sideline reporter on NBC Sports’ Super Bowl LVI coverage during the first week of the Games.

PEACOCK COMMENTATORS: Peacock’s Winter Olympics coverage features host Matt Iseman with 1998 Olympic moguls gold medalist Jonny Moseley, host Adnan Virk, 1988 Olympic figure skating gold medalist Brian Boitano, Olympic figure skating gold medalist Scott Hamilton, and 2014 Olympic bronze medalist in the team event and three-time U.S. figure skating champion Ashley Wagner.

OLYMPIC CORRESPONDENTS:

LINDSEY VONN: Vonn, the winningest woman in alpine skiing World Cup history who competed in four Winter Games, makes her NBC Olympics debut as a primetime correspondent at the 2022 Winter Olympics. Vonn made her on-air debut with the NBC Sports team in January 2021 for several days of competition in women’s downhill and Super-G events from Crans Montana, Switzerland. Over the course of her career, she won 82 World Cup races, which is the most by a woman and second-most all time. Participating in four Olympic Games (2002, 2006, 2010, 2018), Vonn amassed three Olympic medals, including gold in the downhill at the Vancouver Winter Olympics in 2010, where she became the first American woman to win Olympic downhill gold.

STEVE KORNACKI: Kornacki, NBC News’ celebrated national political correspondent, reprises his NBC Olympics role after debuting in Tokyo. Kornacki has brought his election-style coverage to NBC Sports’ Football Night in Americato break down the NFL playoff picture, and has served as an insights analyst on NBC Sports’ Triple Crown horse racing coverage.

SPORTS DESK: NBC News’ Sam Brock, who returns for his second Olympic assignment, and Anne Thompson, making her fourth Olympic assignment, will serve as correspondents on the sports desk.

REPORTERS: NBC Olympics’ reporters will cover various venues and locations throughout the Games, and will contribute to features on a variety of platforms. The reporters include: Tom Abbott, Naoko Funayama, Hailey Hunter, Lewis Johnson, Andrea Joyce, Todd Lewis, Randy Moss, Leila Rahimi, and Corey Robinson.

CONTRIBUTORS: Andy Browne, the Editorial Director of Bloomberg New Economy Forum, and Jing Tsu, the John M. Schiff Professor of East Asian Studies & Comparative Literature at Yale University, will contribute to coverage of the Opening Ceremony on NBC and Peacock, as well as NBC’s first night of primetime coverage on Thursday, Feb. 3. Browne and Tsu, making their NBC Olympics debuts, will provide a broader context of what the U.S. audience is watching in the opening days of the Games.

HIGHLIGHTS:

ALPINE SKIING: Dan Hicks will serve as lead play-by-play for alpine skiing, marking his 13th Olympics overall with NBC Sports. Ted Ligety, one of U.S. Skiing’s most-decorated athletes and two-time Olympic gold medalist, makes his NBC Olympics debut as an analyst. Former U.S. Ski Team downhill racer Steve Porino serves as an analyst, his eighth assignment with NBC Olympics, while reporter Todd Lewis marks his third overall NBC Olympics assignment.

BIATHLON: Bill Doleman serves as the play-by-play commentator for biathlon coverage, after handling curling play-by-play at the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics. He will be joined by former U.S. Biathlon Team member Chad Salmela, who returns for his sixth Games as a biathlon and cross-country analyst. Tom Abbott will report from the course.

BIG AIR: Shane Bacon will serve as play-by-play commentator for big air events, alongside 2013 freestyle world ski champion Tom Wallisch and three-time Olympic medalist and 2002 halfpipe gold medalist Kelly Clark. Sam Brock will serve as the big air reporter.

BOBSLED/LUGE/SKELETON: Leigh Diffey reprises his role as bobsled/luge/skeleton play-by-play commentator, which marks his fifth overall NBC Olympics assignment after calling track & field in Tokyo. Lewis Johnson, working his 12th Olympic Games for NBC, will be the reporter for all three disciplines. Working as analysts alongside Diffey will be four-time Olympian Erin Hamlin (luge); former U.S. National Bobsled Team member John Morgan, a bobsled analyst for his 11th consecutive Winter Olympics, and 2010 Olympic bobsledder and former skeleton racer Bree Schaaf (skeleton and bobsled).

CROSS-COUNTRY: Steve Schlanger reprises his role as a play-by-play commentator for cross-country skiing, his sixth Olympics assignment. In addition to his work on biathlon, Chad Salmela will work as the cross-country analyst along with gold medalist Kikkan Randall, who makes her Olympic debut as an analyst. Naoko Funayama, in her second NBC Olympics assignment, is the reporter.

CURLING: Reprising their curling play-by-play roles are Jason Knapp in his sixth Olympic assignment and third consecutive Winter Olympics, Jim Kozimor in his sixth Olympic assignment, and Kenny Rice in his sixth Olympic assignment. Kevin Martin, who skipped Team Canada to gold at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, 2018 Olympic gold medalist Tyler George, and three-time national champion Jaime Sinclair will serve as analysts. Corey Robinson serves as the curling reporter for the first time in his second overall Olympic assignment.

FIGURE SKATING: Terry Gannon, working his sixth Olympics, will reprise his role as lead play-by-play commentator for Olympic figure skating alongside lead analysts Tara Lipinski, the 1998 Olympic gold medalist, and three-time U.S. figure skating champion Johnny Weir. Lipinski and Weir are working their fifth Olympic assignments together and third Winter Games on figure skating coverage. 2006 U.S. Olympic ice dance silver medalist Tanith White will serve as an analyst in her fifth overall Olympic assignment with NBC Sports, and Andrea Joyce, who returns for her 12th Olympic assignment with NBC (16th overall), will serve as a figure skating and short track speed skating reporter.

FREESTYLE SKIING/SNOWBOARDING: Trace Worthington returns for his fifth Winter Olympics assignment and will be the freestyle skiing play-by-play commentator. Worthington is joined by analyst Hannah Kearney, a two-time Olympic moguls medalist.

Todd Harris will return for his sixth consecutive Winter Games, serving as the play-by-play commentator for men’s and women’s snowboarding, which includes halfpipe, slopestyle, snowboard cross, and parallel giant slalom. U.S. Olympian and multi-time X Games medalist Todd Richards, 2013 freestyle world ski champion Tom Wallisch and two-time snow cross gold medalist Seth Wescott will serve as analysts. Tina Dixon, a four times X Games medalist, will serve as an analyst/reporter, her fifth NBC Olympics assignment.

Randy Moss, making his fifth Olympic assignment, and Hailey Hunter, making her debut with NBC Olympics, will serve as the freestyle skiing and snowboarding reporters.

HOCKEY: Kenny Albert, who has called hockey for every Olympic Winter Games since 2002, Brendan Burke, in his second Olympics assignment, John Walton, in his second Olympics assignment, and Chris Vosters, in his third Olympic assignment, will combine to provide play-by-play hockey commentary.

Hockey analysts include Brian Boucher, Anson Carter, Keith Jones, Monique Lamoureux-Morando, A.J. Mleczko, Dom Moore, Eddie Olczyk, Angela Ruggiero. Leila Rahimi marks her second NBC Olympics assignment as a reporter in Beijing.

SHORT TRACK SPEED SKATING: Ted Robinson, at his 13th Olympics overall and 12th for NBC, will be the short track speed skating play-by-play commentator. Two-time Olympic medalist Katherine Adamek serves as analyst and, Andrea Joyce, in addition to figure skating, will serve as the reporter for short track speed skating.

SKI JUMPING: Paul Burmeister reprises his role as the ski jumping play-by-play commentator after making his Winter Olympics debut in 2018. Joining Burmeister are three-time Olympic medalist Johnny Spillane as analyst, and Naoko Funayama, who will report on ski jumping in addition to cross-country skiing.

SPEED SKATING: Olympic gold medalist Joey Cheek returns for his second NBC Olympics assignment as a speed skating analyst alongside speed skating play-by-play commentator Bill Spaulding.

SPORT-BY-SPORT RUNDOWN:

ALPINE SKIING

Dan Hicks, Play by Play

Ted Ligety, Analyst

Steve Porino, Analyst

Todd Lewis, Reporter

BIATHLON

Bill Doleman, Play by Play

Chad Salmela, Analyst

Tom Abbott, Reporter

BOBSLED/LUGE/SKELETON

Leigh Diffey, Play by Play

Erin Hamlin, Luge Analyst

John Morgan, Bobsled Analyst

Bree Schaaf, Skeleton/Bobsled Analyst

Lewis Johnson, Reporter

CROSS COUNTRY SKIING

Steve Schlanger, Play by Play

Chad Salmela, Analyst

Kikkan Randall, Analyst

Naoko Funayama, Reporter

CURLING

Jason Knapp, Play by Play

Jim Kozimor, Play by Play

Kenny Rice, Play by Play

Kevin Martin, Analyst

Tyler George, Analyst

Jamie Sinclair, Analyst

Corey Robinson, Reporter

FIGURE SKATING

Terry Gannon, Play by Play

Tara Lipinski, Analyst

Johnny Weir, Analyst

Tanith White, Analyst

Andrea Joyce, Reporter

FREESTYLE SKIING/SNOWBOARDING/BIG AIR

Shane Bacon, Play by Play (Big Air)

Todd Harris, Play by Play

Trace Worthington, Play by Play

Kelly Clark, Analyst

Hannah Kearney, Analyst

Todd Richards, Analyst

Tom Wallisch, Analyst

Seth Wescott, Analyst

Tina Dixon, Analyst/Reporter

Hailey Hunter, Reporter

Sam Brock, Reporter (Big Air)

Randy Moss, Reporter

HOCKEY

Kenny Albert, Play by Play

Brendan Burke, Play by Play

John Walton, Play by Play

Chris Vosters, Play by Play

Brian Boucher, Analyst

Anson Carter, Analyst

Keith Jones, Analyst

Monique Lamoureux-Morando, Analyst

AJ Mlezcko, Analyst

Dom Moore, analyst

Eddie Olczyk, Analyst

Angela Ruggiero, Analyst

Leila Rahimi, Reporter

SHORT TRACK

Ted Robinson, Play by Play

Katherine Adamek, Analyst

Andrea Joyce, Reporter

SKI JUMPING

Paul Burmeister, Play by Play

Johnny Spillane, Analyst

Naoko Funayama, Reporter

SPEED SKATING

Bill Spaulding, Play by Play

Joey Cheek, Analyst

HOSTS, CORRESPONDENTS, AND REPORTERS:

PRIMETIME HOST:

Mike Tirico, NBC

PRIME PLUS HOST:

Mike Tirico, NBC

Maria Taylor, NBC (Week 2 – following Super Bowl)

ON-SITE & PRIME PLUS HOST (middle weekend):

Craig Melvin, NBC

OPENING CEREMONY:

Savannah Guthrie, NBC

Mike Tirico, NBC

DAYTIME HOST:

Rebecca Lowe, NBC

USA NETWORK, CNBC AND PEACOCK HOSTS:

Ahmed Fareed, USA Network

Jimmy Roberts, USA Network

Lindsay Czarniak, USA Network

Jac Collinsworth, USA Network (following Super Bowl)

Carolyn Manno, CNBC

Kathryn Tappen (following Super Bowl)

Matt Iseman, Peacock

Jonny Moseley, Peacock

Adnan Virk Peacock

Brian Boitano, Peacock

Ashley Wagner, Peacock

Scott Hamilton, Peacock

CORRESPONDENTS:

Lindsey Vonn

Steve Kornacki

Sam Brock (Sports Desk)

Anne Thompson (Sports Desk)

CONTRIBUTORS:

Andy Browne

Jing Tsu

NBC SPORTS DIGITAL:

LaChina Robinson (Twitter)

Zora Stephenson (Twitter)

Laurie Hernandez (TikTok)

Jo Ling Kent (Twitter)

Original Article: https://www.sportsbroadcastjournal.com/nbc-china-assignments-begins-this-week-84-voices-will-work-out-of-connecticut-tirico-starts-in-beijing/