Legendary sportscaster Bob Costas has found a new home. He will join the CNN family as a contributor. He will be used immediately to discuss issues relating to the restart of team sports in the United States.
Costas certainly carries the name recognition and gravitas to command the respect of CNN’s entire audience, even those that are not sports fans. He is the only television air talent to win Emmys for sports, news, and entertainment shows.
He has hosted nearly every major sporting event during his time at NBC and still calls baseball games on the MLB Network. He will have plenty of valuable opinions as Major League Baseball starts its season this week, the NBA relaunches next week, the NHL next month, and the NFL in September.
“Bob Costas is a legendary, respected voice across the spectrum of sports and beyond,” CNN president and WarnerMedia news and sports chairman Jeff Zucker said in a press release. “As the world continues to change amid the coronavirus pandemic, we are confident that Bob’s insightful analysis will help our viewers better understand what the future holds as the sports and teams we love evolve to meet this moment.”
Zucker and Costas previously worked together at NBC. Zucker’s 24 year career at NBC began with providing research leading up to the network’s coverage of the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul. By the time he left, Costas was reporting to him as the President and CEO of NBC Universal.
Costas has called the World Series the NBA Finals College Football and the NFL for NBC as well as hosted the NBA Finals The World Series Superbowl horse racing and the Olympics for NBC. He may not be liked by many people because he was the first sports play by play host to regularly use that platform as a political voice but he is well versed to speak about the issues facing the restart of sports and what to expect with sports this fall