NBC, which removed Jac Collinsworth from his play-by-play role on Notre Dame broadcasts earlier this year, showed it still has high expectations for the young announcer, picking him as host for a daily show at the Paris Olympics.
The network announced this week the 29-year-old Collinsworth will be a host on Gold Zone, which will stream live on Peacock from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. (ET) each day from July 27 through Aug. 10.
Other Gold Zone hosts are Scott Hanson, Andrew Siciliano, and Matt Iseman. The show will help navigate the busy Olympics schedule, bouncing from sport to sport. Colllinsworth replaces Akbar Gbajabiamila, who stepped down because of a scheduling conflict.
The son of Cris Collinsworth, NBC’s lead NFL analyst, Jac Collinsworth has worked two previous Summer Olympics for the network, as a social media correspondent in 2016 and then on Peacock’s Tokyo Tonight show in 2020.
He remains best known, however, for his two seasons as Notre Dame’s play-by-play man on NBC. Veteran Dan Hicks has replaced Collinsworth after he received rough reviews as a play-by-play announcer.
Collinsworth and Notre Dame color analyst Jason Garrett ranked in last place in the AA reader rankings of national college football announcers for 2023. The pair were frequent targets of criticism on social media. Collinsworth is expected to play some role in NBC’s football coverage this fall, but the details of what those assignments are (whether play-py-play or reporting) remain to be seen.
NBCUniversal has ambitious plans for Paris. Peacock will stream every sport and event, including all 329 medal events, along with full-event replays.
About Arthur Weinstein
Arthur spends his free time traveling around the U.S. to sporting events, state and national parks, and in search of great restaurants off the beaten path.