Dick Ebersol is a legend at NBC. The man has had his hands in many pots at the network, including an interest in early SNL programming; however, his biggest contribution has probably been in sports. In the '90s, Ebersol managed to make NBC the network to go to for four hotcake properties: the World Series, the Superbowl, the NBA finals, and the Olympics. He has also executive produced every goddamn Olympics since 1992. Which is why, after Ebersol’s departure from the network in May, NBC had some pretty big shoes to fill.
Luckily, the network has found at least a size 11 ½. Jim Bell is set to executive produce NBC Universal’s coverage of the 2012 summer Olympics in London. Since 2005, Bell has executive produced Today with Matt Lauer. His roots lie in sports. Prior to The Today Show, Bell worked for 16 years in NBC Sports & Olympics. Even after taking on other duties, Bell was involved with Olympics work in either sports or the news. He’s won Emmys for his work in the Olympics during the '90s and the early 2000s. On paper, and likely in real life, the man seems to know what he’s doing.
Just in case, Bell won’t be thrown into the gauntlet without a little help. According to Deadline, Ebersol will be back in a limited capacity to serve NBC during the London Olympics. Apparently, the man has figured out whatever contract issues he had with the network and will be back as a special adviser. As part of his duties, he’ll get to work with the vast NBC Olympics team. Sounds like a better dream team than Lebron and D-Wade.
