Bleav in The Media Guide

On Sunday, February 13th, NBC, Telemundo, and Peacock will reach milestones with the presentation of Super Bowl 56 at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles. NBC Sports Group Chairman Pete Bevacqua explains. Host Mike Tirico and Executive Producer and President of NBC Olympics Production Molly Solomon talk about Tirico’s Olympics sandwich around Super Bowl Sunday. Sunday Night Football executive producer Fred Gaudelli maps out a star-studded game open with Oscar winner Halle Berry, and he details the production plan for his seventh Big Game with director Drew Esocoff. Ads always are a big part of the broadcast, and President NBCU Ad Sales and Partnerships Dan Lovinger discusses some new categories of advertisers getting back to the old playbook of funny commercials.

The Beijing Olympics will begin on NBCUniversal Wednesday, February 2nd on USA Network and continue through Sunday, February 20th on NBC. As primetime host for his third Olympics, Mike Tirico has an interesting countdown to these Games, which he’ll anchor in China as well as the site of the Super Bowl. Executive Producer and NBC Olympics Production President Molly Solomon discusses the stories of these Winter Olympics, the role of NBC News on the ground in Beijing, and how Peacock will have all 2,800+ hours of programming. Olympics TV newcomers Craig Melvin, from The Today Show, and Olympic downhill gold medalist Lindsey Vonn talk about Vonn’s role in front of and behind the camera. NBC Sports Group Chairman Pete Bevacqua says the pandemic and the progression of media production will find over 1,000 members of his team at the company’s Connecticut headquarters.

CBS Sports and the PGA TOUR’s 65th consecutive year together will include 20 events in four countries. The network’s season tees off at the Farmers Insurance Open from Torrey Pines Golf Course in San Diego. The CBS Television Network and Paramount+ have the final two rounds on Friday and Saturday. Golf anchor Jim Nantz will do a special double, calling the final 36 holes from the site of the AFC Championship Game. As Nantz’s schedule transitions from the NFL to golf, he discusses the details of this weekend’s double, takes us behind the scenes of last year’s production of The Memorial as CBS reported Jon Rahm’s positive COVID test, talks about losing friend and golf journalist Tim Rosaforte, and notes which non-major tournament is his favorite. You’ll also hear from CBS Sports Chairman Sean McManus, lead analyst Sir Nick Faldo, lead on-course reporter Dottie Pepper, and lead producer Sellers Shy.

Last week, NBC announced that Michele Tafoya will work her final Sunday Night Football game at Super Bowl LVI on February 13th. With a record four Sports Emmys for Outstanding Sports Personality – Sports Reporter and the only person to be a finalist every year since the award’s inception in 2011, Tafoya will have done 327 games as an NFL sideline reporter, the most national primetime TV games (regular and postseason) for someone in that role. As the one doing the interviews, Tafoya isn’t used to being the interviewee as she was on an NBC Sports conference call. Executive producer Fred Gaudelli explains why he thinks she’s the best sideline reporter the NFL has had. Tafoya talks about her connection to Minnesota, some of her favorite moments, her stint on “The View,” and the importance of working a Super Bowl less than 10 miles from where she was raised by her mom, who asks her daughter when she plans to visit.

Perhaps no network has made a bigger commitment in the breadth of its coverage than CBS has made with its streaming platform Paramount+, which has become a leading destination for U.S. soccer fans as it features more than 2,000 live matches each year. CBS Sports Chairman Sean McManus, Executive Vice President and General Manager at CBS Sports Digital Jeff Gerttula, CBS Sports Executive Producer Harold Bryant, CBS Sports Coordinating Producer Pete Radovich, and host Kate Abdo discuss the rapid rise and shrewd strategy behind their programming and production.

2021 was a big year for ESPN. SportsCenter anchors Kelsey Riggs and Ryan Smith highlight 12 months of rights deals, including three of the big four U.S. sports. It sets the stage for the network’s hopes of an NBA extension. The current deal runs through the 2024-2025 season. Then, Monday Night Football’s Steve Levy shares a behind-the-scenes look at a unique weekend in Seattle, where he called his first NHL game since 2004 and the first home game in Seattle Kraken history before returning to his regular job calling a Saints-Seahawks primetime matchup. Plus, we’ll preview ESPN’s "Monday Night Football: Doubleheader Saturday" on January 8, and it’s plans for the final game of Super Wild Card Weekend on Monday night, January 17.

On Tuesday, December 14 at 7:30 p.m. Eastern, ESPN will debut a new 90-minute ESPN E60 special, “Fistful of Steel – The Rise of Bubba Wallace.” The only Black driver in the NASCAR Cup Series who became the second Black driver to win in the sport’s premier series reveals personal details in a wide-ranging, candid, and emotionally charged interview with the network’s Ryan McGee. Listen to a preview of the show, including bites from Bubba, his family, and seven-time NASCAR Cup champions Richard Petty and Jimmie Johnson among others. We’ll also listen to our interview with McGee after the 2020 Talladega race when the sport rallied around Wallace. Plus, Wallace shares another side of himself on NBC Sports’ “Beyond the Fairway” podcast.

On Christmas Day, Saturday, December 25 at 2 p.m. ET, FOX will give fans “All Madden,” a documentary co-directed by 17-time Sports Emmy Award winner Tom Rinaldi and FOX Sports Vice President of Production Joel Santos. In several teases shared by the network, hear from Bill Belichick, Brett Favre, Peyton Manning, Troy Aikman, Michael Vick, Lamar Jackson, Madden himself, and more.

NBC Sports analyst Drew Brees looks back at what he’s learned in his rookie year on “Football Night in America” and in the Notre Dame and NFL booth. Mike Tirico notes the versatility that Brees has shown and pulls back the curtain on NBC’s Sunday night studio. Brees also shares his analysis on NFL quarterbacks Josh Allen, Derek Carr, Justin Herbert, Lamar Jackson, Baker Mayfield, and Tua Tagovailoa.

Last Thursday, NBCUniversal and the Premier League announced a six-year extension of their partnership to 15 seasons through 2027-28 in a reported $2.7 billion deal. NBC Sports Chairman Pete Bevacqua explains the importance of exclusivity to his company and the soccer association, which also reportedly received joint offers from CBS and ESPN as well as Warner and FOX. NBC Sports Group Executive Jon Miller describes how the Premier League fits the best-of-the-best strategy for his network, and he says innovative promotions resonated with the fan base and grew into the Emmy Award-winning Apple TV series “Ted Lasso.” He also discusses whether all games will be available on Peacock and addresses NBC’s interest in other soccer rights.