NEW YORK – NBC announced today that veteran broadcaster Bob Costas will no longer host the network’s Olympics coverage, turning the duties over to Mike Tirico.
Costas, 64, has been the prime-time host for NBC since 1992, covering 11 Olympics — and also served as the late-night host for the network in 1988 in Seoul. But he felt now was the time to step away.
“I just don’t have the energy anymore to do it,” said Costas. “Do you have any idea how exhausting it is to work for two weeks straight every two years? And I know that might not sound like a lot to the average person, but it’s really tiring when you basically don’t work at all in between. It’s a real shock to the system.”
Costas will maintain his role with the network on its Sunday Night Football coverage, giving him about 12 minutes of work once a week for 17 weeks out of the year.
“If I stay in good shape and eat right, I’m confident I can keep up with my Sunday Night Football workload for at least a few more years,” said Costas. “I don’t want to retire completely yet. Just go from 95-percent retired to about 98-percent retired.”
Tirico said he is honored to take over NBC’s Olympics hosting.
“I have a lot to do to prepare for this responsibility,” he said. “People don’t realize how much prep work there is before you go on-air. For example, I need to sterilize everything Bob has ever touched so I don’t get pink eye. That was absolutely disgusting and I don’t want it to happen to me.”
