Peyton Manning will co-host the Summer Olympics Opening Ceremony; Leigh Diffey is reportedly set to replace Rick Allen as NBC’s NASCAR voice; Adam Zucker will fill-in for Greg Gumbel as host of the NCAA men’s basketball selection show; Ali Krieger is leaving CBS for ESPN.
Manning to co-host Olympic Opening Ceremony
Peyton Manning will co-host NBC’s coverage of the Summer Olympics Opening Ceremony alongside Mike Tirico and entertainer Kelly Clarkson, the network announced Tuesday. Manning, whose primary sports media role is as co-host of the Monday Night Football “Manningcast,” received permission from ESPN to take the assignment, per The Athletic.
The trio of Tirico, Manning and Clarkson is a sharp departure from what had been the norm for the Opening Ceremony, which had come to be dominated by hosts from the NBC News morning show “Today.” This year will mark the first Opening Ceremony sans a “Today” show host since 1996, when Bob Costas and Dick Enberg co-hosted.
Diffey to replace Allen as NBC’s NASCAR voice after Olympics
NBC Sports plans to replace lead NASCAR lap-by-lap voice Rick Allen with its top IndyCar broadcaster Leigh Diffey following the Olympic Games, Sports Business Journal reported Wednesday. Allen will work Cup Series races until that point and continue as the voice of the Xfinity Series through the end of the season. Diffey is unavailable until after the Olympics as he is NBC’s lead track and field announcer at the Games.
The Allen-Diffey swap is not necessarily long-term as NBC has not made plans for next year and beyond, per the report. Allen has been the voice of NASCAR on NBC since the network resumed airing races in 2015. Warner Bros. Discovery, Amazon and CW enter the NASCAR broadcasting picture next season, meaning he will have any number of options should he leave NBC.
NBC has already lost analyst Dale Earnhardt Jr. this season, who is reportedly moving on to WBD and Amazon next season.
Zucker to host Selection Show; Catalon promoted to second week
CBS studio host Adam Zucker will host Sunday’s NCAA men’s basketball tournament Selection Show for CBS, it was announced Wednesday, filling the vacancy left by Greg Gumbel. Zucker will also host some coverage of the tournament itself, though Ernie Johnson will serve as the primary studio host. Adam Lefkoe will anchor the Turner-based studio in Atlanta.
With Jim Nantz’ departure opening up a slot, Andrew Catalon has been promoted to the second week of the tournament, it was announced Tuesday. Catalon and partner Steve Lappas will join the teams of Ian Eagle, Grant Hill and Bill Raftery, Brian Anderson and Jim Jackson, and Kevin Harlan, Dan Bonner and Stan Van Gundy on the second week.
Nantz’ vacancy and the resulting reshuffling will also result in Tom McCarthy calling tournament games this year. He will work alongside Debbie Antonelli and Avery Johnson. Antonelli worked last year with Spero Dedes, who will now work with Eagle’s former partner Jim Spanarkel. Johnson worked last year with Lisa Byington and Steve Smith, who will now be joined by Robbie Hummel.
Jamie Erdahl, a sideline reporter last year, will handle studio updates. Jon Rothstein will fill her spot in the line-up, working on the Dedes-Spanarkel team.
Krieger joining ESPN exclusively as soccer analyst
ESPN announced Tuesday that it has hired former USWNT D Ali Krieger as a soccer studio analyst, starting with the network’s NWSL season debut this weekend. Per a network spokesperson, Krieger will work exclusively for ESPN — meaning her time with CBS Sports is over. Kreiger joined CBS only in January.
