Bob Costas Getty
"It’s going to be impossible, in some cases, not to address some of the issues that have come up because they will directly intersect with the competition," says NBC's primetime host.
Just days before the Aug. 5 opening ceremony of the Rio de Janeiro Summer Olympics concerns about Zika may be abating — it’s winter in Rio and mosquitoes are at a minimum — but security and severely polluted water still dominate headlines.
And NBC Olympics host Bob Costas told journalists gathered for NBC’s portion of summer press tour Tuesday morning that he intends to address the water problems head on. “One thing is certain; every bit of competition that takes place on open water, you’ve got to talk about the condition of the water,” said Costas, appearing at the Beverly Hilton, via satellite from Rio, with NBC Olympics executive producer Jim Bell and correspondent Mary Carillo.
“These athletes are dealing with it. And, in some cases, the best they’ve been told is try to keep your mouth closed,” continued Costas. “That’s rather difficult when you’re swimming, even in your backyard pool, let alone in open water. It’s going to be impossible, in some cases, not to address some of the issues that have come up because they will directly intersect with the competition.”
Bell chimed in that multiple open water test events have been held and so far none of the athletes have been knocked out by illness. But the waterways of Rio are nevertheless teeming with dangerous viruses and bacteria, putting 1,400 athletes at risk of getting violently ill. According to the Associated Press, the most contaminated areas are the Rodrigo de Freitas Lagoon, where Olympic rowing will take place, and the Gloria Marina, the starting point for the sailing races. Even the water at Rio’s famed Copacabana Beach, the location of the beach volleyball competition, is extremely polluted.
When Carillo offered that she’ll be covering some of the open water events next week with Rowdy Gaines, Costas quipped: “Do you plan to take a dip yourself?” To which Carillo replied with an emphatic: “Absolutely not!"
The Olympics are generally plagued by negative headlines in the run up to the Games. And Costas said that he’ll have an “extensive” sit-down interview with IOC president Thomas Bach for the network’s Aug. 4 primetime special during which he intends to buttonhole Bach on many of the critiques that have dogged the Games, not just the Rio Olympics, including partnerships with authoritarian regimes (China, Russia), economic issues, pollution and, yes, Zika. “I will put every one of those questions to Thomas Bach,” said Costas. “We’ll see what happens.”
Traditionally, once the competition begins, viewers and the media, shifts its collective focus to the athletes. Clearly, NBC Sports executives are hoping that will be the case. And Bell noted that the network’s market research reveals very high interest in the Rio Games, even higher than for London in 2012. The advantageous time zone – Rio is one hour ahead of New York – will let NBC program the most live events ever for an Olympics, especially in primetime on NBC.
To that end, Bell confirmed that West Coast viewers who will not be seeing live content during NBC’s primetime coverage, can still watch all events live on NBCOlympics.com and the NBC Sports app. “What we’ve found is that people who stream, watch more television,” said Bell. “So it doesn’t cannibalize our [linear] audience.”
Television Critics Association Bob Costas
