Tirico to lead NBC’s coverage
Longtime host Costas steps down after 11 games.
NEW YORK — The biggest change for Americans watching the Winter Olympics on television this month will likely be the first face they see on the screen.
Mike Tirico is replacing Bob Costas as host of NBC’s prime-time Olympics coverage, which starts Thursday from Pyeongchang, South Korea. Costas hosted 11 Olympics starting in 1992 until he stepped down last year. He became as identified with the event as Jim McKay was for an earlier generation.
“I’m taking the approach of I’m following him, not replacing him,” Tirico said. “You don’t replace someone like Bob.”
NBC has groomed Tirico, 51, and he’s studied up on Alpine skiing and the luge. Whether he’s well-suited for the role and accepted by the audience won’t become clear until he does it.
The job requires someone conversant in sports, of course. But he’ll also have to deal with unanticipated news events, history and pop culture. He’ll be expected to talk about the tense relations between North and South Korea and the absence of the Russian Olympic team because of a doping scandal. A sense of humor helps, too.
Costas adeptly bridged these worlds, said Andrew Billings, a University of Alabama professor and author of “Olympic Television: Broadcasting the Biggest Show on Earth.” The former host knew sports and also hosted a general-interest talk show for many years, and spoke out on issues like the dangers of football.
While most sports fans know Tirico from his years at ESPN, he’s less visible among the casual viewers who determine whether or not the Olympics are a success. “Whoever goes in there is going to have to prove themselves, or reinvent what the job of Olympic host is,” Billings said.
Tirico’s not interested in changing the job, or pretending that he duplicates Costas’ skills and interests. “I’ll just try to take my sensibilities and curiosities and mix them in along the way,” he said.
While at ESPN a decade ago, he requested an assignment to the World Cup soccer tournament, knowing the event was a cultural phenomenon as much as a competition, and anticipating ESPN may win a bid to broadcast 32 failed to pass IOC vetting the Olympics someday. NBC’s and were invited. Olympics portfolio was a key
The CAS decision is factor in his jump to the netexpected on Wednesday. work in 2016, he said. News
e not fearful in any networks are on the TV in way,” IOC spokesman Mark his home office as much as Adams said. “We wait for the sports, he said. decision tomorrow. We’re “You know there are going very confident with the to be times when people say, stance we’ve taken.” ‘just stick to sports,’” he said.
The IOC expects 168 Rus“But that is impossible in an sian athletes who have been Olympics forum.” deemed “clean” to particiHe said if an issue comes pate in the games under the up that calls for commenbanner of “Olympic Athtary, “I’ll make it, and I’ll letes from Russia,” absent make it knowing I might be any national flags, uniforms criticized. I know it comes or national logos. The con- with that chair.” tentious issue of the Russian Tirico’s World Cup work ban, and the way it was hanwas one of the things that dled by the IOC, threatens brought him to NBC’s attento overshadow the games tion as a possible successor themselves with 3,000 athto Costas, said Jim Bell, execletes expected to compete. utive producer of NBC Olym
“We have to change and pics. Tirico worked as a host learn from this difficult sitof NBC’s late-night Summer uation,” Bach said. Olympics coverage in Bra
The IOC will hope to shift zil in 2016. Tirico won’t be the focus to good news as intimidated by the assignment North Korean and South because he’s spent a lifetime Korean athletes compete preparing for a role like this, alongside each other under said John Wildhack, a fora symbolic deal aimed at eas- mer executive at ESPN who ing tension on the peninsula. worked closely with Tirico.
Murray’s Team Korea was despite the dictionary, and letes’ village, they were sepformed only 11 days earlier as said her South Korean assisarated into different aparta result of the Koreas’ abrupt tant coach plays an importment buildings. decision to cooperate in the ant role in bridging the gap. A total of 22 North Korean Olympics, which start Friday. “We’re catching on quickly athletes are to participate in
South Korea has incorpo- ... but when it’s a majority the games, thanks to special rated many English words of North Korean players, it’s entries granted by the Interand phrases into its language, hard to coach in English.” national Olympic Committee, GANGNEUNG, SOUTH KOREA while North Korea has elimThe joint team’s formaand they plan to march with — North and South Korea inated words with foreign tion triggered a strong back- South Korean athletes under face a widening linguistic origins and created home- lash in South Korea, with 12 the “unification flag” during divide after 70 years of divi- grown substitutes, which North Korean players added the opening ceremony. sion, and that is a challenge many South Koreans feel to Murray’s existing 23-memMany experts say North for the rivals’ first-ever joint sound funny. Experts say ber South Korean team. Crit- Korea wants to use its Olympic team as it prepares about a third of the everyics worried the deal would improved ties with South for the Pyeongchang Winday words used in the two deprive South Korean playKorea to weaken U.S.-led ter Games. countries are different. ers of playing time, and a surinternational sanctions, and
The Canadian coach of Still, Koreans from the two vey showed about 70 percent that tensions could easily the joint women’s hockey countries are generally able of South Koreans opposed flare again after the games. team said Monday her squad to understand each other the joint team. Murray also Murray said the North and has made a three-page dic- because most words and the expressed initial frustration. South Korean players are tionary that translates key grammar remain the same, The criticism has declined getting along “way better hockey terms from English but the gap is wider with spegradually as the Olympics than I expected,” and that into South Korean and then cialized medical, sports and near. On Sunday, the joint she is enjoying having North into North Korean for better other technical terms. Korean team had its first Koreans who “are absorbing communication among the According to Murray’s match with world No. 5 Sweeverything like sponges.” players and herself. dictionary, South Korean den in front of a capacity When the players were
“In North Korean, there players use the English loan crowd of 3,000 in Incheon, first paired together, Murare no English words so word “pass,” but their North just west of Seoul. It lost 3-1 ray said they sat at different everything is totally different. Korean teammates say but many believe it was a lunch tables. She asked them So we actually made like a “yeol lak” or “communicadecent result given that both to sit together in the future. dictionary, English to Korean tion.” South Koreans call a Koreas are ranked out of the “We sat together at the to North Korean. So we can “winger” a “wing,” but North world top 20. next meal and the players communicate and hopefully Koreans say “nahl gay soo” or They wore the same uniwere laughing. They are just learn how to speak each oth- “wing player.” South Koreans forms with a “unification girls ... you know ... they are er’s languages,” Sarah Mursay “block shot.” North Kore- flag” depicting the penin- just hockey players. They ray told reporters followans say “buhduh makee,” or sula, and stood to the Korean are all wearing the same ing her team’s first practice “stretching to block.” folk song “Arirang” instead jersey and we are on the after arriving at the GangMurray acknowledged of their respective national same team now,” she said. neung athletes’ village earthere are still some prob- anthems. But when they “Hockey really does bring lier Monday. lems in communications arrived at the Gangneung ath- people together.”