Jim O’Donnell: Oh no, Gigot — NBC targeting serious youth overload at the Paris Olympics
THE LOVELINESS OF PARIS will be mere French dressing once NBC Sports and associates get up and bourrèe on coverage of the ‘24 Summer Olympics.
Launch date is Friday, July 26. That's when Peyton Manning and Kelly Clarkson will swoon and sway over the River Seine as celebrity co-hosts of the Opening Ceremonies.
The NBC undertaking is mammoth. More than 150 anchors, analysts and roving correspondents will present thousands of hours of coverage of the 17-day global sports Bacchanalia.
That sort of production will require the utilization of no fewer than eight TV feeds, including: NBC, Peacock, USA, CNBC, E!, GOLF Channel, Telemundo and Universo.
THE CORE GOAL OF NBC isn't very complicated. The network will be attempting to squeeze celebrity lure while integrating highest-tech media in a blatant try to get younger viewers to stay with the fest. (Young Americans generally don't need any stinking legacied TV.)
Two of the most intriguing talents will be Snoop Dogg and Alex Cooper, who's merely the most popular female podcaster on the planet.
Dogg needs no introduction. Thirty years after “Gin and Juice,” he's proof that old rappers don't necessarily fade away. More enlightened ones, like him, just switch into the Au Courant Regis Philbin Lane (with jacket linings by Merv Griffin Productions).
COOPER'S ADDITION TO NBC'S TEAM PARIS is so pragmatic that it's perfect for the America of 2024.
She's made her celeb bones creating and hosting the raunch-friendly “Call Her Daddy.” It's modern media feminism's answer to a flown-over Howard Stern. Only Joe Rogan has more podcast listeners. Time magazine said Spotify handed her a three-year, $60M contract.
Cooper, much to her credit, did a tremendously revealing interview with Simon Biles, who will apparently be one of the few visitors in Paris actually pursuing athletic championships.
The full schedule for all U.S. TV is at the cleverly titled “nbcolympics.com/full-schedule.”
Savoring the loveliness of Old Paris will clearly be optional.
STREET-BEATIN':
Caleb Williams scheduled a rare local public appearance Saturday to launch his “Caleb Cares” charity foundation near Gately Stadium on Chicago's far South Side. The organization promotes youth empowerment. Bears rookies report to training camp Tuesday, prompting a Williams adviser to note, “After this event, Caleb will be 100% focused on football.” (And the team's upcoming 20-0 season.) …
Charles Barkley didn't coin the phrase, but one of his favorites is, “Father Time remains undefeated.” That thought has tremendous national crossover these days. (Barkley continues to insist that he's retiring from his NBA studio scholarship after the 2024-25 campaign.) …
Northwestern University chieftains confirmed that a search committee is in place to find a new athletic director. Second-gen power 'Cat Pat Ryan Jr. is prime influencer on the panel. Two intriguing names in the mix are Chris Reynolds of Bradley and Steve Watson of Loyola. Regarding Reynolds, his current Peoria citadel is going through some challenging financial times. …
Also rooted on The Enchanted Lakefront, Luke Donald (NU '01) returns to Scotland — the country of his birth — to serve as No. 1 analyst on NBC's coverage of The Open later this week. Dealing with The Old Course at Troon will be one thing; surviving four days of the brutal bunker banality of Mike Tirico greatly increases Donald's golfing slope. …
Alex Cohen, voice of the Iowa Cubs, has picked up some more dates to fill in for Boog Sciambi on the telecasts of the Big Team. Tom Ricketts can bring back Jack Brickhouse and Harry Caray and the fact will remain that his zig-sagging Marquee Sports Network is an unfinished work. …
Free tip to bosses at Hertz and their crusty advertising crew: The new wave of digital ads featuring Tom Brady is as insipid as previous ones. The one-take Brady looks more like he's ready for an innocent bystander role in “Law & Order: Organized Crime.” …
Great story about star Hersey High QB Colton Gumino deciding to go all the way to UCLA to play his Big Ten football. In the old days, all that Huskies stallions like Kevin Pancratz and Marty Friel had to do was surf the B-10 pike down to Champaign to play for Bob Blackman and the Fighting Illini. (Friel went on to a distinguished career as a Batallion Chief with the fire department in St. Charles.) …
And Gotham sports Gothic Phil Mushnick, obviously counting on the metric overkill of the MLB All-Star Break: “I'm so backward I still regard batting averages as telltale.”
Jim O'Donnell's Sports and Media column appears each week on Sunday and Thursday. Reach him at jimodonnelldh@yahoo.com. All communications may be considered for publication.