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Welcome to the octobox—in July!
NBCUniversal is off to a fast and impressive start with its coverage of the 2024 Paris Olympics. The early standout has been Peacock’s Gold Zone, led by energetic NFL RedZone host Scott Hanson.
Gold Zone is the Olympic version of NFL Network’s NFL RedZone: a live, supercharged, whip-around show that transports viewers to the most critical moments of competition—particularly, medal events. Instead of touchdowns and field goals from Arrowhead Stadium, they’re watching gold won in real time from the City of Light.
In Hanson’s words, it’s a “one-stop shop” for Olympic action. His 20-foot screen—capable of showing 16 events at once—makes the eight-screen octobox on NFL RedZone look practically quaint.
The whip-around format is a balancing act at the best of times. With its 40-second play clock and TV timeouts, the NFL is uniquely suited to that type of coverage. Throughout his 15 seasons at the helm of NFL RedZone, the beloved Hanson has made an art form of it.
The Paris Olympics, on the other hand, include 39 sports and 329 medal events across 17 days. Many of the events don’t operate on a clock—or they involve lengthy debates among judges. (Even Hanson admitted the challenge was “daunting” after receiving a 145-page email outlining the nuances of Olympic handball.) So, NBC assembled a team of hosts—Hanson, Andrew Siciliano, Jac Collinsworth, Matt Iseman, and Akbar Gbajabiamila—to provide live Gold Zone coverage 10 hours a day, from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET.
Hanson has thrown himself into the job with his usual brio. As Team USA won a medal Monday, he pounded the desk so hard, he cut his hand, splattering blood all over his script. “I’m designated likely to return,” he joked on X. Similar to RedZone, the NFL Network star knows he won’t be judged by his NBC bosses on pronouncing the name of a Latvian fencer correctly, but instead by bringing enthusiasm and drama to the biggest moments. His hope? Olympic viewers will leave Gold Zone on all day long, and dip in and out of coverage.
“You won’t need to dedicate yourself to a three-hour judo broadcast. We’ll have you covered,” Hanson told Front Office Sports. “We’ll get the best 90 seconds of it for you. We’ll get that moment, when a win becomes a loss, or a loss becomes a win, and you’ll feel that you caught up to it in an informative and entertaining way, without having to dedicate yourself to the entire broadcast.”
Everybody from Tom Brady to ESPN’s Tony Kornheiser and Bob Ley have praised NFL RedZone’s impact on sports coverage. Some football fans tell Hanson they can go without sex on Sunday—but not RedZone. Others say if they were allowed only one channel, it would be RedZone. One went so far as to describe Hanson’s mystical ability to dip in and out at the exact right moment as the equivalent of God holding the remote control.
Hanson, Peacock, and NBC will be happy if they can bottle just some of that RedZone–like TV lightning around the Paris Olympics. As the host says: “Ultimately, Gold Zone will paint with a relatively broad brush. But what everybody is going to be talking about on Wednesday, you will see it live on Tuesday.”
The 53-year-old Hanson has had to make other adjustments. Since Gold Zone has commercials, he can’t wheel out his patented NFL RedZone catchphrase, “Seven hours of commercial-free football starts now.” But I notice he’s using the phrase “gold medal alerts” quite frequently. He’s also on the lookout for key one-hour Olympic windows he can describe as the “witching hour.” That would be a nice Easter egg for RedZone fans, who’ll appreciate the reference.
The Olympics rookie is largely putting his trust in NBC Sports producers, who’ve been covering the Games for decades. “They will tap me on the shoulder when I need to tap the United States on the shoulder to say, ‘Hey folks, we need your full attention right here; this is going to be awesome.’ We will trim the fat off everything and bring you the best of the best in a one-stop on Peacock for Gold Zone. That will lend itself to a very fun viewing experience.”
So far, the results are positive. John Green, bestselling 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. What a rush. I’m deeply invested, simultaneously, in judo, fencing, gymnastics, and kayaking. #GoldZone.” After Siciliano debuted a 10-box screen, journalist Brian Stelter tweeted: “Now that’s just showing off.” One viewer wrote on X: “Scott Hanson having a red zone-style Olympic show could legitimately change the way we watch the Olympics forever. ‘Let’s go to the Octobox’ at 8:41 AM, and it’s just eight men’s cycling prelims, will hit like crack.”
Sportscasters are fans, too. Like many Olympic viewers, Hanson grew up watching legends, including Bob Costas and Dick Enberg, call NBC’s coverage from exotic locations. He admits to getting “choked up” when NBC presented him with his own hand-tailored Olympics blazer to wear on the air.
“It was like, ‘I belong here, I’ve earned this. And I need to continue earning it,’” Hanson tells FOS. “As a fan of the industry it was quite a moment to be presented with one of those yourself. I was like, ‘Is Costas coming around the corner to put it on me?’”
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.).
