NBCU Academy Leadership Lessons: How the NBC Olympics Team Goes for the Gold

July 31, 2024

 

No matter how you’re watching Paris 2024 Olympics coverage — NBC News, NBC Sports, “TODAY,” “NBC Nightly News,” Telemundo, Peacock, NBC News NOW or NBCNews.com — there is one team responsible for all the creative, editorial and logistical decisions behind these broadcasts.  NBCU Academy spoke with a few of the leaders that help bring the Games to life on how they work together, the challenges of the games and why they love covering the Olympics for NBCUniversal.

Here's what NBCU leaders Molly Solomon: NBC Olympics Executive Producer and President, Jack Felling: NBC Olympics Original Content VP, Darryl Jefferson: NBC Olympics Engineering & Technology SVP, Rob Hyland: NBC Olympics Coordinating Producer and Mike Tirico: NBC Olympics Prime-time Host had to say.

What Do You Love About Covering the Olympics for NBCUniversal?

Mike Tirico, NBC Olympics prime-time host: You get one shot to win your Olympic gold medal. It’s one of the very few things on planet Earth that when you’re done, you can say, “That woman, that man is the best in the world at doing this.”  

Molly Solomon, NBC Olympics executive producer and president: It’s the biggest sporting event in the world. Everything is at stake in the Olympics, and I think everybody recognizes it. It’s production, it’s operations, it’s technology, it’s engineering. 

Jack Felling, NBC Olympics original content VP: Things that just should be impossible tend to happen at the Olympics. You think you know what world-class looks like, and then you see it in person, and it takes your breath away.  

Darryl Jefferson, NBC Olympics engineering & technology SVP: You get to see things that are remarkable, that bring the world together. We roll into a city of choice and stand up all the infrastructure we need, everything from power, audio, our camera positions.

Rob Hyland, NBC Olympics coordinating producer: It brings together sports stories, human connections. From the excitement of a close finish in a race, to telling the incredible stories of the athletes, I hope our audience gets all the feels.

What Are Your top Leadership Tips?

Amy Rosenfeld, NBC Olympics production SVP: Find that razor-thin margin of believing in yourself, but also having that humility. Make sure your team knows that you don’t know everything. 

Solomon: Never make a decision by yourself. When the going gets tough, I talk to other people. 

Tirico: A great leader takes incredible interest in their team’s growth. Bring a team together, listen, communicate clearly and be fearless about going forward and accomplishing a task. 

Hyland: Get a group of people all committed to the same goal. And regardless of the hours and the time commitment, [a leader’s] willing to come back and do it again. 

Felling: Make sure everyone on the team knows what is expected of them, what goal we’re trying to reach together.

Jefferson: The leadership mantra is to trust in one another and conquer it together.

How do you meet the challenges of producing Olympics coverage?

Solomon: I try to make sure that we’ve got a plan, but it’s ultimately the execution by all the people on the team that determines our success.  

Jefferson: We’re all in our own ways problem-solvers. What’s possible? How can we get a new angle on that? How can we describe or give context to viewers a little better with technology?

Tirico: Every part of our Olympic group has incredible leadership that all works in a synergistic fashion. That’s a big deal. There are so many turns in the road, and I am so blessed and fortunate and thankful that we have a leader like Molly to always guide us down the right road.

How to Watch The Olympic Games Paris 2024 Across NBCUniversal

NBCU will surround this unprecedented Olympic presentation with its most comprehensive coverage plan ever. HERE are all the ways for U.S. viewers to watch the 2024 Paris Olympics. 

Every day during the Summer Olympics, NBC will offer fans at least nine hours of daytime coverage of the Games’ most exciting events, including live finals coverage of swimming, gymnastics, track and field, and more. Considering the time difference (Paris is six hours ahead of the U.S.’s eastern time zone), fans will be able to watch the day’s most popular events live on NBC in the morning and afternoon. NBC will also deliver an enhanced Olympics primetime show each night, providing three hours of must-see entertainment.

In addition, every event from the Summer Olympics will be broadcast live on Peacock, which will be home to an innovative Olympics hub that will include "curated rails of live and upcoming events, dedicated in-depth hubs for nearly 40 sports, medal standings and an interactive schedule. Telemundo and Universo will also present more than 315 hours of LIVE apanish-language coverage of the Summer Games of the XXXIII Olympiad 

To learn more about the Olympics at NBCUniversal, visit our Olympics Hub.