Winter Olympics: NBC Sports' Mike Tirico Returning to US From Beijing Earlier Than Planned
Mike Tirico will be leaving Beijing very soon. On Sunday, the NBC Olympics host is returning to the U.S. after Monday night's broadcast. He will host the Wednesday and Thursday shows from Stamford, Connecticut, the home of NBC Sports. Originally, Tirico was going to stay in China through Thursday and then leave for Los Angeles to cover the Super Bowl. He would then cover the rest of the Olympics in Stamford.
According to Deadline, the change was made due to issues of coordination, as so many of the on-air commentators and production personnel are based in Beijing and covering the games remotely. Maria Taylor and Craig Melvin will host the Games on Tuesday night for Tirico. This is the first time the Olympics and the Super Bowl are taking place at the same time. As mentioned by The Hollywood Reporter, Tirico missed the Super Bowl in 2018 as he was preparing to cover the Winter Olympics in Pyeonchang.
The 2022 Winter Olympics began on Friday with a big opening ceremony. During the broadcast, Tirico dove into several controversial issues going on in China. "Juxtaposing political controversy alongside an athletic competition that promises drama of its own, with the backdrop of a global pandemic, little about this event will be simple to reconcile over the next two and a half weeks," Tirico said, per The Philadelphia Inquirer.
"Everything and everyone attached to these Games is facing questions — the hosts, the guests, the IOC, the sponsors, media, and athletes. "The United States government is not here, a diplomatic boycott announced this fall — joined by Canada, Great Britain, and Australia — citing China's human rights record, and the U.S. government's declaration that the Chinese Communist Party is guilty of committing genocide on the Uyghur Muslim population in the western Xinjiang region. That's a charge that China denies."
Tirico, 55, joined NBC Sports in July 2016 and has covered various events for the Network, according to his bio. In August 2018, Tirico was named Studio host for Football Night in America, the pre-game show leading into Sunday Night Football. Before joining NBC Sports, Tirico called primetime NFL games for 10 years for ESPN's Monday Night Football. He spent 25 years at ESPN (1991-2016) and covered Monday Night Football, The Open, The Masters, NBA, college football, college basketball, FIFA World Cup, and tennis' U.S. Open and Wimbledon.