PARIS – A rain that turned into a downpour at times could not dampen the magic of the opening ceremony at the 2024 Paris Olympics. The boat cruise down the Seine featured the host country’s history and culture in a variety of creative ways that honored France, the people and the Games.
The commentary on NBC? Well, that left a lot to be desired.
Peyton Manning and Kelly Clarkson joined Olympics host Mike Tirico as official co-hosts for the event. NBC had promoted their presence for months before the opening ceremony. The gamble by executives – an attempt to draw a broader audience with the inclusion of the Season 1 ‘American Idol’ winner and the Pro Football Hall of Famer – was a fine idea in the boardroom.
In practice, it could not have gone worse.
Tirico is the best of the best when it comes to hosting and play-by-play, and he was his typical self. But Manning and Clarkson were distracting at best and brutal to listen to at worst.
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Olympics fans watching at home aren’t tuning in to hear a talk-show host (Clarkson) and football analyst (Manning) discuss things outside of their spheres of influence. They want substantive information about the countries and international athletes’ stories.
Clarkson saying she finds the rain “magical” twice in a span of 15 seconds and Manning doing a bit with a quarterback wristband didn’t elevate the broadcast. At least Manning appeared to have done some reporting by talking with athletes and relaying some anecdotes. By the end of the (way-too-long) show, it felt like they had both been benched, particularly Clarkson.
When NBC needed her most, to evaluate Celine Dion’s performance to cap the show, Clarkson literally said: ‘I actually can’t talk.’
NBC’s saving grace may have been Snoop Dogg. The rapper will be featured heavily in the coverage over the next two weeks, and his timing was effective. On Friday, the comedy he provided was desperately needed.
The most disappointing part of the broadcast was that it did not provide a proper reflection of what was happening in Paris. A dance party – a borderline rave – on one of the barges that went on for 20 minutes received little attention.
Even in the rain, many of the visual elements of the boat parade impressed and resonated. A metal scene featuring French band Gojira was an early highlight (and followed an ode to “Les Miserables”), while a dozen headless Marie Antoinette mannequins appeared in the Conciergerie. French singer Aya Nakamura and the Republic Guard’s performance intertwined history and modern music. A mock fashion show and nod to Louis Vuitton were other Parisian hallmarks that came through successfully on TV. The Eiffel Tower light show at the end, the Celine Dion performance under the landmark and the cauldron lighting were historic. Lady Gaga helped the festivities begin appropriately.
The vibes from the fans who braved the elements created a festive atmosphere on the ground. But the television broadcast struggled to convey that – the perils of having to focus on the boats and the immediate action on the river.
NBC didn’t adequately highlight the American boat and interviews with Maria Taylor, a capable reporter who actually asks questions (something that’s becoming rare on TV these days). That type of exclusive access should have been played up more. An opportunity to highlight athletes beyond big names like A’ja Wilson, Noah Lyles, Joel Embiid and Steph Curry went wasted.
Again, it’s worth pointing out how much the rain caused noticeable difficulties throughout the broadcast and likely impacted the ability to throw it to Taylor on the boat. But if this was the plan all along, she would have been better off sitting next to Tirico as a co-host.
Speaking of better options for the co-hosting gig, why not Rebecca Lowe, who led the pre-ceremony coverage? Or Snoop?
At one point, Manning’s audio sounded like he’d dipped his microphone into the Seine. “TODAY” show host Hoda Kotb promised a FaceTime call with Simone Biles while interviewing her family on a bridge over the Seine. That promise went unfulfilled, and Kotb disappeared from the broadcast for nearly three hours. Her co-host, Savannah Guthrie, finished one of the “TODAY” segments by saying that she couldn’t hear anything, and the network abruptly inserted its first commercial of the broadcast. NBC did keep the first hour of the broadcast commercial-free, as it said it would.
An opening ceremony such as this one was always going to be a challenge to produce. NBC Sports Olympic president and executive producer Molly Solomon said that from a television perspective, it was going to be the most-complicated event ever taped.
“It’s audacious, it’s bold, it’s daring and it’s going to be unforgettable,” Solomon told USA TODAY Sports in May.
Unfortunately for viewers in the U.S., and for NBC, it might be mostly for the wrong reasons.