TV Tinsel: NBC set for Olympic coverage, including dash of Snoop Dogg

Luaine Lee | Tribune News Service

NBC Sports is going all-out programming the 2024 Paris Olympics, which begin July 26. Officially dubbed “NBC Sports: 2024 Paris Olympics,” the network coverage will run live all day with a compilation of highlights and interviews during prime time.

The massive NBC coverage is helmed by Molly Solomon. As executive producer and president of Olympics production, the buck stops with her. “I’m going to get promoted or fired. One or the other,” she jokes.

No chance of that. Solomon started her NBC Olympics coverage in 1990 as a researcher for the Barcelona Games and has worked nearly every Olympics since.

“I remember where I was seven years ago, when I heard that Paris was going to host the Olympics and Paralympics, and I was thrilled then,” she said.

“But … I don’t think I’ve ever been more excited about an Olympics. This will be my 13th Games, and we are keenly aware that this truly will be a Games that none of us has seen before. The historic landmarks of one of the world’s most beautiful cities is actually going to be the backdrop for the 17 days of this incredible competition,” she explains.

“Some of these famous sites actually will be Olympic venues. These Summer Olympics, thank goodness, are going to return (after COVID) with joy, spectacle, and crowds, so you’ll see friends, families and fans back in the seats, and that really is providing the excitement and energy that the viewers expect when they watch the Olympics.”

What they’re probably not going to expect is rapper Snoop Dogg as a lively roving commentator. The 52-year-old gained some attention when he served as commentator on the dressage competition during the Tokyo Olympics. But he was not on-site then.

This time he will be, though they haven’t quite determined what to call his new avocation.

“I think what it’s going to be, it’s going to be me actually in the field at events — hosting, getting with the athletes, moving through the city. Just doing the things that Snoop Dogg does,” he said.

“We’re planning on shaking it up in many different ways, bringing my flavor. And then at the same time, just having fun. Because it’s the Olympics, y’all, this is the biggest sporting event every four years. We only get it once every four years, so we’re going to make the most of it.”

Solomon said she spoke with Snoop Dog about filling this role a year ago. “And what I was so struck by was the passion, the genuine passion, that (he has) for the athletes.”

The singer-celeb, who’s known for his quirky appearances with chum Martha Stewart, said he has followed the Olympics ever since he first caught them when he was 13.

“I think it’s very special because it’s a time where the whole world can come together and cheer for their countries, cheer for certain athletes. And then at the same time, we come together as one — as America,” he said.

“And a lot of times in the world, it’s always division and separation. But this is a chance for the world to be on one page, for everybody to be together, to cheer for each other, to root for each other. So it’s actually a peace offering that I feel like. I’m honored to be here because I always represent peace. I love sports, I love the Olympics. And for me to be a part of it is only going to make it more peaceful and more passionate.”

According to Solomon, NBCUniversal plans to be no-holds-barred in its coverage.“We’re going to be live all day on NBC. So the ‘Today’ show will be in Paris from 7 to 9 a.m., and then we will come out and go from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. weekdays, live on NBC. And that allows us to be truly live because … of the time difference, it’s six hours,” she said.

“So everything is happening all day long. So from 2 to 5 p.m. in the afternoon, Eastern Time, is almost like prime-time live in the afternoon. You’ll have swimming, gymnastics, and track and field finals on NBC.”

The network’s streaming stepchild, Peacock, is going to spread its tail too.

According to Solomon, “Peacock will be the greatest single Olympics destination in U.S. media history. We’re going to be incorporating all the lessons that we’ve learned from the last two Olympics and really every moment, every medal, every network and cable simulcast will be shown on Peacock.”

(Luaine Lee is a California-based correspondent who covers entertainment for Tribune News Service.)

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