homeWelcome, sign in or click here to subscribe.login
     


 

 

Weekend


print  email to a friend  reprints add to mydjc  

January 12, 2001

McKay joining NBC for 2002 Winter Games

  • News you can use after 5 p.m.

    • NEW YORK (AP) - The voice of the Olympics will help narrate the 2002 Winter Games.

    Jim McKay, the veteran TV sports commentator who helped make ABC the Olympic network more than three decades ago, will work for NBC at Salt Lake City under an unusual talent-sharing arrangement.

    "To say this is unexpected is a tremendous understatement. I can't tell you how much I appreciate the offer," McKay said Wednesday. "It should be the most fun I've had in a long while."

    He will contribute features and commentary in Salt Lake City, while Bob Costas will stay on as NBC's main Olympic studio host.

    The 79-year-old McKay brings a wealth of experience and a measure of audience familiarity to NBC's Olympics coverage. Last year's Sydney Games on NBC drew the lowest TV ratings for an Olympics since 1968.

    He has worked at 11 Olympics, all but one for ABC, but none since the 1988 Winter Games.

    "Obviously to anybody in the United States over the age of 25 or 30, Jim was the person who first brought the power and the majesty of the games to them," said NBC Sports chairman Dick Ebersol, who was a researcher for McKay at the 1968 Grenoble Games. "He just strikes such a resonance and a chord with them."




    Previous columns:


    
    Email or user name:
    Password:
     
    Forgot password? Click here.