The COVID-19 pandemic has wiped out plenty of planned television programming for sports networks, with zero live sports going on and social distancing/stay-at-home orders all over the place. But NBCSN is actually set to debut a daily sports talk show next week, hosted by Mike Tirico.
NBC Sports announced on Friday that Lunch Talk Live will debut on Monday, April 6, at noon ET on NBCSN and NBCSports.com (and the NBC Sports app).
Tirico will host Lunch Talk Live remotely, and the show “focuses on the current state of the sports world and the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.”
Lunch Talk Live focuses on the current state of the sports world and the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, providing guests with a platform to discuss the state of sports, voice their personal stories and detail how they are adapting their daily lives during this challenging time.
“In these challenging times, we are all missing sports and the people who make sports memories,” said Tirico. “Hopefully, we can bring a midday connection with some of them to help fill the void.”
The NBCSN press release adds that Tirico will be joined on the show by “special guests, including current and former athletes, NBC Sports’ lineup of on-air commentators, and other prominent voices and figures within sports and media.”
Tirico is a highly-respected and versatile play-by-play announcer (the former Monday Night Football play-by-play man even showed off his NHL broadcasting skills last year), and has experience as a talk show host. From 2007-2009, he hosted The Mike Tirico Show (2007) and Tirico & Van Pelt (2008-09) with Scott Van Pelt on ESPN Radio.
Tirico’s new show will likely deliver for sports fans in search of reasonable analysis and conversation, and especially regarding the impact of COVID-19 on sports.
About Matt Clapp
Matt is an editor/writer at Awful Announcing and The Comeback.
He can be reached by email at mclapp@awfulannouncing.com.