NBCUniversal is continuing to build out its Olympic team as the countdown to the Summer Games in Paris hits the two-month mark. TVNewser can reveal that Mary Carillo,Andrea JoyceandJimmy Robertswill provide commentary from France’s capital city alongside previously announced on-air talent including Willie Geist,Sam Brockand Anne Thompson.
“Mary, Andrea and Jimmy have provided the compelling reporting and storytelling that is a hallmark of our Olympic presentation,” Rebecca Chatman, vice president and coordinating producer, NBC Olympics Production, said in a statement. “We are thrilled to have them back on our team for Paris.”
All three Paris-bound commentators have extensive Olympics experience. This will be Carillo’s 16th time covering the Games, and she’ll specifically be calling the shots during the tennis competitions. As a warm-up, she’ll be front and center at Roland Garros when NBC’s French Open coverage begins May 26—her 22nd time covering the year’s second Grand Slam event.
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From l to r: Mary Carillo, Andrea Joyce and Jimmy Roberts join the Olympics coverage team. (Courtesy NBCUniversal)
“When you cover as many Olympics as I have you inevitably come to think you know how to judge every sport,” Carillo joked in a statement. “It sucks you in, the weeks of the Olympic Games. And if you’re as lucky as I am, every morning you text your two great friends, Andrea and Jimmy. You write, ‘Heading down to breakfast.’ And they come. And it’s gold.”
The Paris Games will be Joyce’s 17th Olympics, and she’ll be serving double duty as both a sportsdesk reporter and diving commentator. The Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame honoree was previously on the gymanstics beat, covering such major moment as the gold medal-winning run of the “Final Five” at the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro.
Roberts is celebrating his 20th Olympics by joining Joyce on the sportsdesk and continuing to tell detail-rich stories about the long history of the Games. And, for the record, his first-ever Olympics was one of those history-making events. Roberts was a production assistant for the 1980 Winter Games in Lake Placid aka the “Miracle on Ice” year.
NBCUniversal’s coverage of the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris begins July 26 on the NBC broadcast network and Peaco*ck. Read full statements from Carillo, Joyce and Roberts below:
Mary Carillo
When you cover as many Olympics as I have you inevitably come to think you know how to judge every sport. Doesn’t matter that you’ve never tried most of them, especially all those crazy winter events. Doesn’t matter that you only watch them for a few days every four years. Does that stop you from declaring that it was the luger’s blunder on turn 27 that cost him the gold? Hell, no. That the forward lean on that last ski jump was premature? That the fall lines in the Nordic combined must be obeyed! Is it any wonder that by the end of it all when you order coffee you find yourself saying, ‘Triple lutz salchow twizzle. With oat milk.’ It sucks you in, the weeks of the Olympic Games. And if you’re as lucky as I am, every morning you text your two great friends, Andrea and Jimmy. You write, ‘Heading down to breakfast.’ And they come. And it’s gold.
Andrea Joyce
It’s always so incredible to be surrounded by the passion and determination of the athletes…many of whom train their whole lives in relative obscurity for just one moment in the spotlight. Beyond that, I love the spirit of generosity at the games. No matter what is going on in the world, the Olympics makes us all feel like we are part of one community…a constant reminder that we are more alike than we are different. To share that with my co-workers is a true gift. Over the years I was incredibly lucky to witness Simone Biles make history countless times. But my favorite wasn’t a gold medal performance. In Tokyo, after withdrawing from the competition, Simone made a remarkable comeback on the last day for the balance beam final. She won the bronze. Seeing her reaction and the emotion from her teammates was a true Olympic moment. After all her historic accomplishments, Simone told me that moment and that bronze medal would always rank among her best memories.
Jimmy Roberts
My career in relation to the Olympics has been one ‘pinch me’ moment after another. I’ve been fortunate to have seen things I will never forget, iconic things. For me, though, the lasting memory of the Games is about the many remarkable people I’ve met along the way. Athletes, of course, like Dan Jansen, who gets my vote for the most memorable story I’ve covered. Also, it’s the people I’ve had the privilege of working alongside. Not only Hall of Famers like Jim McKay, Bob Costas, and Mike Tirico, but the hundreds of talented and tireless folks on the other side of the camera with whom you become family. It’s really an amazing dynamic.
