WP: Costas Will Host NBC's NFL Show

Costas Will Host NBC's NFL Show

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/07/25/AR2005072501500.html

Tuesday, July 26, 2005; Page E02

As expected, Bob Costas will be the host of NBC's studio show when it begins televising NFL Sunday night games in 2006.

Last week, while discussing the hiring of Cris Collinsworth as the lead studio analyst, NBC Universal Sports Chairman Dick Ebersol said, "I'm sure we're going to make a deal any minute now" with Costas. That minute has come, Costas now says.

"I think this is in the category of a foregone conclusion," he said.

A formal announcement is expected to be made today.

Costas is one of the few network sportscasters who is equally adept in play-by-play and studio roles. He has been NBC's lead baseball and NBA announcer, and also is its prime-time Olympics host. And he had the studio-host job on the network's NFL coverage from 1984 to '92.

"I think from Day 1 everybody figured it this way," Costas said. "The only possible twist on it would have been had [Ebersol] needed me to do the play-by-play, or if that had been my strong preference. . . . But now all the other pieces are falling into place."

In addition to Collinsworth, NBC has hired John Madden to serve as the game analyst and has been negotiating with Al Michaels to do the play-by-play.

Costas said a drawing card for him to the studio is that there probably will be the opportunity to do in-depth work. That's one of his fortes on the shows he does for HBO -- including "Inside the NFL," on which he works with Collinsworth.

"In the first half-hour of the show, from 7-7:30 [p.m.] Eastern time, on most weeks you're going to be overlapping some games that are still in progress," he said. "So that portion of the show can't be highlight-driven. That portion has a real good chance to contain some meaty content."