North Korean Athletes on NBC? Network's Olympic Host Hopes So

(ATR) Mike Tirico says he is approaching hosting NBC’s primetime coverage of the Olympics as a sports fan guiding viewers to the context that makes for compelling stories of the Games.

Tirico talked with Around the Rings about his new role at NBC, taking over for Olympics legend Bob Costas, and what compelling story lines viewers should be prepared for. In Rio, Tirico joined NBC's daytime programming and was a co-host during the Closing Ceremony.

Costas, as Tirico says, is "the best who’s ever done this and you can’t replace that". Instead, Tirico is trying to soak up as much as he can about every Winter Olympic sport. That means rather than preparing for the Super Bowl, the annual National Football League championship, Tirico spends a normal day watching various Olympic qualifiers in a crash course.

"It has been really fun to get this new opportunity and do different things and really examine and understand sports I’ve only really taken in every four years like many fans do," Tirico said. "I don’t think anyone is spending their afternoons going ‘I can’t wait to watch Mike at the Olympics,’ maybe my family will say that but it's debatable. I think they are saying ‘I can’t wait to watch the Olympics,’ nobody is tuning in for me, they are tuning in for the Games."

Olympic days will begin around 5 am for Tirico, preparing for the network’s primetime coverage in broad daylight. South Korea’s timing will allow NBC to broadcast its domestic primetime coverage with morning Olympic events, then resume live coverage during night events. In addition to Tirico’s hosting, NBC will broadcast the TODAY show live, as well as NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt.

"Live is the only way to go and the opportunity to know that we are truly half a world away that we are live with events that will be great and I’m excited for that," Tirico said. "Being a morning guy for 3 weeks is just fine for me."

In preparations for the Olympics, Holt has traveled to North Korea to report from the country ahead of its groundbreaking Olympics delegation. Starting Jan. 23, his show will broadcast from Seoul.

WATCH: @LesterHoltNBC reports from a modern ski resort in North Korea, where skiers from both North and South Korea are expected to train together. pic.twitter.com/VqZkTWiybo

As Holt prepares to inform viewers about the context, Tirico says he wants NBC to work to get interviews with North Korean athletes during the Games.

"So if somebody from the other side that you never hear from can give you perspective, that’s gold in my mind in television and journalism," Tirico said. "So who knows what the rules will be and who knows what the opportunity will avail themselves. If so, out of curiosity I hope we can find out what they think and what they are feeling and share that with the world."

North Korea, Russian doping, and potential U.S. athlete protests are just a few of the topics Tirico says NBC could explore during its coverage. More important than that will be the context the reporting teams provide for viewers on these topics. Tirico expects that effort to begin during the Opening Ceremony and continue throughout the 18-days of coverage.

NBC is trying something different for the Opening Ceremony, showing a live stream early in the morning online, with the traditional broadcast coming in primetime. Tirico will host the ceremony with veteran journalist Katie Couric as his co-host.

However, some Olympics fans may be disappointed that the online stream will be limited to the global feed provided by Olympic Broadcasting Services. To hear the commentary from NBC, viewers will have to wait until that night, more than 12 hours after the Games have started, and when events the morning of Feb. 9 have begun.

Still, the Opening Ceremony broadcast will set the tone of NBC’s coverage. Tirico says the team is not going to shy away from any topic and aims to give viewers "a little bit of everything".

"[The Opening Ceremony] is one of the most unique television broadcasts every year because it is certainly sports, it's why we are there, [but] it is news, its history, because there's the context to everything," Tirico says. "What I want to do is show people who enjoy it. They want to enjoy the natural parts of it, but also [we have to] pick the right sports to let everyone know what’s important. It's a little bit of everything, [for example] we’ll go from the favorite Russian skater to the anti-doping in 30 seconds so you can’t focus in on one bit."

Tirico reiterated that the reporters would not shy away from reporting on any protests that happen during the Games, should they come. For such sensitive subjects, Tirico says that his reporting of protests by NFL players in the U.S. will be of use to help guide editorial decisions.

Protests are not new to the Olympics. Tirico says they have been going on since Jesse Owens stood up to Adolf Hitler in 1936, but what is important is documenting them and providing a necessary larger context. No editor can anticipate an Olympic protest, so the decisions surrounding coverage of them will come "on the fly".

If there is one thing Olympic fans can expect from the broadcast it is they’ve got a fan guiding them through this journey.

"If there’s a little score box in the corner and people are competing, I’m keenly interested in that," Tirico said. "I love watching athletes compete, and I hope that people come away with that I love competition and sports and try to tell you why it's important and why it matters. I think the thing about the Olympics that appeals to most, is I love telling stories and I love telling people stories.

"I hope I can share their stories and do it in a genuine way."

Written by Aaron Bauer

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