NBC's Olympic Line-Up of Air Personalities

Bob Costas will lead a group of  115 NBC Olympic commentators as NBC presents an unprecedented 5,535 hours of London Olympic on the following networks: NBC, NBC Sports Network, MSNBC, CNBC, Bravo, Telemundo, NBCOlympics.com, two specialty channels, and a new 3D platform.  The number of hours covered will surpass coverage of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games by nearly 2,000 hours.

The lineup returns many of the network’s signature Olympic hosts, play-by-play commentators and analysts, including 28 Olympians and a number of noted broadcasters like Al Michaels and Dan Patrick, who are hosting NBC’s Olympic Daytime show, and Olympic gold medal speed skating legend Apolo Ohno, who is making is Olympic broadcasting debut as a reporter.  Also on tap will be NBA head coaches Doc Rivers and Doug Collins, Shaun White, John McEnroe, Willie Geist, Jimmy Fallon and even Ryan Seacrest.

Here is a rundown of NBC’s Olympic roster:

NBC HOSTS:

• The 2012 London Games will be Bob Costas’ 10th for NBC and his ninth as primetime host. After serving as late night host in 1988 from Seoul, South Korea, Costas earned acclaim for his work as primetime host from Barcelona, Atlanta, Sydney, Salt Lake City, Athens, Torino, Beijing and Vancouver. Costas, who has the longest tenure of the network’s sports commentators, joined NBC in 1980.
• Al Michaels, one of the most renowned commentators of all-time and whose legendary “Do you believe in miracles? Yes!” call at the 1980 Lake Placid Winter Olympic Games 32 years ago stands as one of the most famous calls in sports history, will work his second straight Olympics for NBC, serving as host of NBC’s live weekend and weekday daytime coverage from London. Michaels was the daytime host at the Vancouver Winter Olympic Games in 2010, his first Olympic broadcast assignment in 22 years, when he covered hockey and hosted the Closing Ceremony at the 1988 Calgary Winter Olympics for ABC.
• Dan Patrick will make his Olympic hosting debut, joining Michaels as host of NBC’s live weekday and weekend daytime coverage from London. Patrick, host of Football Night in America and the Dan Patrick Show, served as an Olympic correspondent for NBC in Vancouver.
• Mary Carillo will host NBC’s late-night coverage for the third time, reprising her role from Beijing and Vancouver. Carillo will also serve as an Olympic correspondent and provide a look into life in the United Kingdom through a collection of features done in her own inimitable style, similar to her acclaimed work during the Beijing and Vancouver Games. London is Carillo’s 11th Olympic Games and eighth for NBC.

NBC SPORTS NETWORK

• Michelle Beadle makes her Olympic debut as a host on NBC Sports Network’s coverage from London. She will also serve as a correspondent for Access Hollywood during the Games. Beadle joined NBCUniversal in May of this year.
• Liam McHugh, one of the emerging voices in sports television today, continues to add to his rapidly growing workload as he hosts NBC Sports Network’s coverage from London. McHugh recently hosted NBC and NBC Sports Network’s studio coverage of the Stanley Cup Final.
• Willie Geist, host of MSNBC’s Up Way Too Early and co-host of Morning Joe, makes his Olympic debut as a host of NBC Sports Network’s coverage from London.

MSNBC

• Kelly Tilghman, a member of Golf Channel’s original cast and one of the network’s most versatile anchors, makes her Olympic debut as host of MSNBC’s coverage from 30 Rockefeller Plaza.
• Rob Simmelkjaer will make his Olympic debut as host of MSNBC’s coverage from 30 Rock. Simmelkjaer, who also serves as Senior Vice President of NBC Sports Ventures, is a host on the NBC Sports’ Update Desk and NBC SportsTalk on the NBC Sports Network.

CNBC

• Fred Roggin, the sports director at KNBC-TV, NBC’s owned-and-operated station in Los Angeles, will host CNBC’s Boxing coverage from 30 Rockefeller Plaza, his seventh Olympics assignment for NBC. Roggin’s previous Olympic assignments have included hosting curling coverage from the 2010 Vancouver Games and the 2006 Torino Games; CNBC’s coverage from the Athens Games; serving on the “Special Features Unit” at the Salt Lake Games in 2002; and working as the boxing reporter at the 2000 Sydney Games. Joining Roggin in the studio will be Laila Ali, a former professional boxer and daughter of legend Muhammad Ali, making her Olympic broadcasting debut.

BRAVO

• Pat O’Brien, a veteran of five Olympic Games as a commentator, will serve as host of tennis coverage on Bravo. The London Games will be O’Brien’s fourth Olympics for NBC and sixth overall. He last worked for NBCUniversal at the 2004 Athens Olympic Games.

OLYMPIC CORRESPONDENTS:

• Top TV broadcaster Ryan Seacrest will make his Olympic broadcasting debut, serving as a contributor for NBC’s primetime coverage from London.
• Legendary tennis star and broadcaster John McEnroe will make his Olympic broadcasting debut in London. McEnroe, who has served as a tennis analyst for NBC since 1992, and dominated the tennis world in the 1980’s, winning three Wimbledon and four U.S. Open titles, will serve as an Olympic correspondent on NBC’s primetime coverage.
• Bela Karolyi, arguably the most successful coach in gymnastics history, is one of his sports’ most-recognized personalities. He has coached and trained world-renowned gymnasts for the Olympic Games from 1976-2004, and returns to NBC as an Olympic correspondent, the same roll he filled during the Beijing Olympics.
• Jimmy Roberts, a 13-time Emmy Award winner, will contribute feature stories and essays and serve as an Olympic correspondent during NBC’s daytime coverage.

GUEST COMMENTATORS:

• Shaun White, a two-time Olympic gold medalist, and Jimmy Fallon, host of NBC’s Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, will serve as guest commentators during portions the London Games.

SPORT BY SPORT:
NBC’s signature announce teams return in gymnastics, swimming, track and field and diving. Following is a partial rundown, sport-by-sport:

• GYMNASTICS: Play-by-play commentator Al Trautwig is once again joined by Olympic gold medalist Tim Daggett and Elfi Schlegel, who have provided analysis on NBC’s Olympic gymnastics coverage since the 1992 Barcelona Games, and veteran Olympic reporter Andrea Joyce. Bela Karolyi, arguably the most successful coach in the history of his sport and one of its most recognized personalities, who has coached and trained world-renowned gymnasts for the past eight Olympics, will serve as a gymnastics studio analyst, reprising his role from Beijing.
• SWIMMING: Dan Hicks has the call alongside analyst Rowdy Gaines – working their fifth Olympics together – with Andrea Kremer reporting in her second Olympics. Gaines, who won three gold medals at the 1984 Los Angeles Games, is working his sixth Olympics for NBC.
• TRACK & FIELD: Tom Hammond, who has won acclaim for his memorable calls at the last five Summer Olympics, will once again call track & field. Ato Boldon (second Olympic Games) and Dwight Stones (11th Olympic Games), return as analysts, with Lewis Johnson (fifth Olympic Games) serving as a reporter. Craig Masback, who worked as a track & field commentator for NBC in Barcelona in 1992, Atlanta in 1996 and Beijing in 2008, returns to provide analysis on the men’s marathon and distance races. Tim Hutchings, a former middle-distance runner who represented Great Britain at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, will provide analysis on the marathons.
• DIVING: Ted Robinson, working his fifth Olympics, debuted as the diving play-by-play commentator for the 2004 Athens Games. Cynthia Potter, who made three Olympic teams and won bronze in 1976, returns as analyst, a role she’s handled for NBC since the 1992 Games. Alex Flanagan will report from the diving venue. London is her second Olympic assignment, having served as a sports desk reporter in Vancouver and as host of CNBC and USA Network’s coverage during Beijing.
• BASKETBALL: Bob Fitzgerald, the voice of the Golden State Warriors for CSN Bay Area, will handle the play-by-play of the men’s and women’s competitions, his second Olympic broadcast assignment. He called the water polo competition in Beijing. He is joined by two respected analysts: Philadelphia 76ers Head Coach Doug Collins (men’s), and Basketball Hall-of-Famer Ann Meyers (women’s). Collins, a member of the 1972 U.S. Olympic basketball team, takes on his third Olympic broadcasting assignment. Meyers, who won silver as a member of the U.S. Olympic basketball team in 1976, is working her fourth Olympics as a broadcaster. Craig Sager returns as reporter for both men’s and women’s hoops, a role he’s held since the 2000 Sydney Games. Boston Celtics head coach Doc Rivers will make his Olympic broadcasting debut as a studio analyst in London.
• BOXING: Bob Papa and analyst Teddy Atlas will call boxing. London is Papa’s eighth Olympics, including calling boxing in Barcelona in 1992, Atlanta in 1996, Athens in 2004 and Beijing in 2008. He also called water polo in Sydney in 2000 and a variety of winter sports in Salt Lake City in 2002, Torino in 2006 and Vancouver in 2010. Atlas analyzed the boxing competition from Sydney in 2000, Athens in 2004 and Beijing in 2008. Russ Thaler will serve as the boxing reporter, his first Olympic assignment.
• SOCCER: NBC’s MLS play-by-play commentator Arlo White will call his first Olympics, working alongside men’s analyst Kyle Martino, who is also working his first Olympic Games, and women’s analyst Brandi Chastain, calling her second Olympics. Martino was a long-time Major League Soccer player, having played for the All Star team in 2003, and was 2002 MLS Rookie of the Year. Chastain has played in three Olympics (Athens, Sydney and Atlanta) and three Women’s World Cups (1991, 1999 and 2003). Reporter Drea Avent, in her Olympic debut, will cover women’s soccer in London.
• BEACH VOLLEYBALL: Chris Marlowe (play-by-play) won a gold medal as captain of the 1984 U.S. Olympic volleyball team, and will return for his sixth Olympics as an NBC commentator. Kevin Wong (analyst) is making his Olympic debut. Wong is a beach volleyball Olympian, and a three-time All-American at UCLA where he led the Bruins to two NCAA Championships in 93’ and 95’. Heather Cox returns for her third Olympics as a reporter.
• VOLLEYBALL: Paul Sunderland, a member of the gold medal-winning U.S. volleyball team at the 1984 Olympics, returns to call indoor volleyball, an assignment he had for NBC in Barcelona, Atlanta, Sydney and Beijing. He is joined by two-time Olympian Kevin Barnett, in his second straight Olympic assignment.
• WATER POLO: Emmy award-winning Mike ‘Doc’ Emrick, the voice of the NHL on NBC and NBC Sport Network, will serve as the water polo play-by-play announcer for the second time, a role he served in Athens in 2004. Emrick worked six Winter Games as the play-by-play voice of men and women’s hockey. He is joined by Wolf Wigo, a three-time Olympian and former captain of U.S. men’s water polo team, and Julie Swail, former captain of the U.S. women’s water polo team that earned the silver medal at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. Swail participated in NBC’s broadcast in 2004 as a water polo analyst in Athens. In 2008, she competed in the triathlon at the Beijing Olympics. She will also serve as the analyst for the triathlon competition.
• WRESTLING: Jason Knapp makes his Olympic debut as wrestling play-by-play announcer. He is joined by Olympic gold medalist and American wrestling legend Rulon Gardner, who will participate in his second Olympic broadcast after being an analyst in the 2008 Beijing Games. In 2000 at the Sydney Olympics, Gardner won the gold after defeating Aleksander Karelin. Karelin had been undefeated for 13 years and had not given up a point in six years prior to his loss in the gold-medal match to Gardner. At the end of the 2000 Olympics, Gardner was selected to serve as the U.S. flag bearer at the Closing Ceremony. He then followed with a bronze in 2004 at the Olympic Games in Athens, where he left his shoes on the mat, the sport’s traditional symbol of retirement.