Date: 11th January 2001

ABC Lets Mckay Announce NBC's 2002 Olympics Telecast


Under a "gentleman's agreement," ABC will allow Jim McKay, who has covered the Olympic Games on television since 1960, to back up Bob Costas at the 2002 Winter Games in Salt Lake City, NBC sports chief Dick Ebersol announced at the winter television press tour in Pasadena Wednesday.

McKay himself told the reporters that when he originally learned that NBC had locked up the Olympics through 2008, he thought, "That's it. It's been a great run." He described his hiring by NBC as "an unexpected pleasure."

In an interview with the New York Post, Ebersol said that NBC had not asked to be compensated for allowing McKay to announce the games. "I can't tell you how incredibly generous they're being," he said.

Source: Studio Briefing