Mike Tirico and Maria Taylor are going to be racking up the frequent flyer miles in February.
The face of NBC Sports will be doing it all, from seemingly every corner of the globe, when the network kicks off a marathon February that includes Super Bowl LX on Feb. 8, the Winter Olympics from Milan Cortina from Feb. 6-22, and the NBA All-Star Game on Feb. 15. For those keeping track at home, that’s three massive productions within a 17-day span.
On Thursday, NBC announced some of the major broadcast assignments for that stretch of programming, with Tirico contributing heavily across each property. As NBC’s lead NFL play-by-play voice, Tirico will, of course, call the Super Bowl for the first time in his already illustrious career. For most broadcasters, that’d be enough, at least for one day. But Tirico will also host NBC’s primetime Olympics coverage immediately following the conclusion of the Super Bowl LX broadcast.
From the site of the Super Bowl in Santa Clara, Tirico will fly to Italy where he will serve as live and primetime host for the Winter Games beginning on Feb. 10 through the remainder of the event. Oh, and to start the month, Tirico will call NBC’s debut of Sunday Night Basketball on Feb. 1 between the New York Knicks and Los Angeles Lakers from Madison Square Garden.
Tirico’s not the only NBC employee that will be burning the midnight oil in February. Maria Taylor will join him. Taylor is set to host pre- and post-game coverage for Super Bowl LX for the first time in her career. On the Saturday before the Big Game, Taylor will serve as primetime host for the Winter Olympics, live from Santa Clara. Then after the Super Bowl, Taylor will also fly to Italy where she’ll serve as NBC’s late-night host for the remainder of the Olympics. In addition, Taylor will also start the month at Madison Square Garden, hosting the first episode of Basketball Night in America.
Joining Tirico and Taylor on their globetrotting odysseys will be NBC Sports host Ahmed Fareed. Fareed will begin February in Italy with a daytime hosting assignment at the Olympics before traveling back stateside to host NBC Sports’ coverage of NBA All-Star Weekend from Feb. 13-15.
It’s safe to say NBC Sports will be stretched pretty thin throughout the month of February. However, the network certainly has the depth to handle it, even leaning on NBC News colleagues Savannah Guthrie and Craig Melvin to anchor some Olympic duties while the NBC Sports crew is tied up.
A run of events like this is rather unprecedented in sports television. NBC is dubbing it “Legendary February.” We’ll have to wait and see if it lives up to the billing.
About Drew Lerner
Drew Lerner is a staff writer for Awful Announcing and an aspiring cable subscriber. He previously covered sports media for Sports Media Watch. Future beat writer for the Oasis reunion tour.