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NBCUniversal’s viewers asked for it. Now Peacock, the streaming home of the 2024 Paris Olympics, will give them what they want.
Peacock will have longtime sports-media rivals Scott Hanson and Andrew Siciliano share the screen for the first time during Monday afternoon’s edition of Gold Zone (2 p.m. ET), Front Office Sports has learned.
The two whiparound hosts directly competed for over 10 years. Hanson has hosted NFL Network’s NFL RedZone since its debut in 2009, while Siciliano hosted DirecTV’s Red Zone channel from 2005 to 2022. During their long rivalry, many football fans chose sides, declaring their allegiance to either Hanson or Sicilianos’s version of the dueling, whiparound shows.
With Gold Zone the breakout hit of NBC’s coverage of the Paris Games, viewers have been asking Peacock to bring Hanson and Siciliano together on the show, which streams the most compelling Olympic moments from 7 a.m to 5 p.m. ET. The show’s actually filmed at NBC’s headquarters in Stamford.
“One of the best aspects of Gold Zone has been the interaction between the show and the streaming audience,” said Amy Rosenfeld, senior vice president of NBC Olympics Production, in a statement. “We listen to your feedback and so many of you asked for an Andrew/Scott screen share at some point during the Games. We can’t wait to call this on-set audible tomorrow with Scott and Andrew in the afternoon.”
During an interview with Hanson, I asked him about his rivalry with Siciliano—and whether the two of them co-hosting would be the sports TV equivalent of Robert De Niro meeting Al Pacino in the diner in Michael Mann’s Heat. Hanson laughed.
“I’m thrilled to be working on the same team as Andrew Siciliano. We’re both Syracuse guys. I have followed his career since its inception, which basically dovetails with the beginning of my career. I think he’s a tremendous broadcaster,” said Hanson. “Every sprinter wants to be the best on the replay team. But when it comes to a relay team, it’s about going as fast as you can and handing the baton to get a collective gold medal. I think Andrew and I will bring the same perspective to that.”
Siciliano referenced Will Ferrell’s comedy, Anchorman. “Ron Burgundy and Wes Mantooth couldn’t do it, but Scott and I can,” he said. “This is going to be amazing.”
Peacock’s Gold Zone has been piling up big streaming numbers, and critical raves, for its 10 hours of coverage from 7 a.m. ET to 5 p.m. ET. Hosts Jac Collinsworth and Matt Iseman open the daily coverage of nearly 40 Olympic events at 7 a.m. ET, before handing off to Siciliano from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. ET, with Hanson batting cleanup from 2 p.m to 5 p.m. ET. Paris is Hanson’s first Olympics. Siciliano previously hosted NBC Sports’ Gold Zone coverage for the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics and 2016 Rio Olympics.
NBC has used Gold Zone to “turn the Olympics into an NFL Sunday,” writes The Wall Street Journal. John Green, the author of The Fault In Our Stars tweeted: “I’ve taken a lot of drugs in my life but I’ve never taken a drug like Peacock’s Olympic Gold Zone.”
As Gold Zone has drawn critical raves, NBCUniversal has seen a surge in linear and streaming viewership for the Paris Olympics. Over the first eight days, NBCUniversal is averaging an eye-popping 32.4 million viewers across various platforms. That’s up 74% from the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. Led by Peacock, the Paris Olympics have piled up over 10 billion streaming minutes and counting–more than all previous Summer Games combined.
NBCUniversal controls U.S. media rights to the next four Olympics: Milan Cortina in 2026, Los Angeles in 2028, the 2030 games in the French Alps, and Brisbane in 2032.
Michael McCarthy’s “Tuned In” column is at your fingertips every week with the latest insights and ongoings around sports media. If he hears it, you will, too.
This September, the column will come to life as a one-day event bringing together industry experts to discuss media trends and the future of fan viewership. The event will take place in New York on Sept. 10 at Times Center (242 W. 41st St.).
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