Cari Champion to Host Nightly Tokyo Olympics Show on Peacock

Former ESPN star Cari Champion will anchor a new, nightly NBC Sports series during the Tokyo Olympics, which is set to begin July 23. 

This is the latest of Champion’s many endeavors since leaving ESPN, following her recent work on NBC’s “The Titan Games,” TNT’s “The Arena,” and “Won’t Stick to Sports” with Jemele Hill on Vice. 

“We will be doing interviews, we will be doing highlights, and we’re going to make it our own,” Champion told Front Office Sports. 

The show will be co-hosted by another ESPN alum, according to Champion.

“The person I’m going to be working with has a really great personality, he’s funny, and we have a good time together,” Champion said. “While we both worked at ESPN for as long as we worked, I never once had the opportunity to host a show with him.” 

Sources told FOS senior writer Michael McCarthy that Kenny Mayne, the long-time SportsCenter anchor, will co-host with Champion, though Mayne would not confirm or deny when reached.

“I would prefer to be coy and petulant,” Mayne said on Monday. “Aaron Rodgers has rubbed off on me.” 

The two ex-ESPNers will film the show at NBC Sports’ Stamford, Conn.-based studios, per sources familiar with the production. 

Champion left ESPN in early 2020 after seven years with the network. Mayne left ESPN in May after a 27-year run.

— Senior writer Michael McCarthy contributed to this report.