Olympics on CBS commentators

The following is a list of commentators to be featured in CBS' television broadcasts of the Olympic Games. CBS was the very first television network in the United States to broadcast the Olympics, beginning with the 1960 Winter Games from Squaw Valley, California.

## Hosts

[edit]

Jim McKay was originally tabbed to be the lead broadcaster of the network's coverage of the 1960 Winter Olympics, but had to be replaced by Walter Cronkite after suffering a mental breakdown. McKay recovered in time to host the 1960 Summer Olympics from the CBS Television studio in Grand Central Terminal.[1]

Each Winter Olympics telecast from the 1990s had a different prime time host(s): Paula Zahn and Tim McCarver[2] in 1992, Greg Gumbel[2][3] in 1994, and Jim Nantz[2] in 1998.

Year  | Prime-Time Host  | Daytime Host(s)  | Late-Night Host(s)  | Cable Host(s)

|
|
|
|

1960 Winter | Walter Cronkite[4]
1992 Winter | Tim McCarver[5]
Paula Zahn[6][7] | Greg Gumbel[8][9]
Jim Nantz[10] | Pat O'Brien[11] | Fred Hickman
Nick Charles (for TNT)
1994 Winter | Greg Gumbel[8][12] | Jim Nantz[10][13][14] | Pat O'Brien[15] | Jim Lampley (for TNT)
1998 Winter | Jim Nantz[10][16][17] | Mark McEwen
Jane Robelot[18] | Michele Tafoya
Al Trautwig[19]

## By event

[edit]

### 1960 Winter Olympics

[edit]

Event  | Play-by-play | Color commentators

|
|

Skiing | Chris Schenkel | Andrea Mead Lawrence[20]
Giancarlo Rossini[21]
Biathlon | Chris Schenkel
Figure Skating | Dick Button[22]
Hockey | Bud Palmer[23][24]
Ski Jumping | Chris Schenkel | Art Devlin[25][26]
Features  | Harry Reasoner

|

### 1992 Winter Olympics

[edit]

Event  | Play-by-play | Color commentator(s)  | Reporters

|
|
|

Opening Ceremony | Paula Zahn | Tim McCarver | James Brown and Pat O'Brien
Skiing | Tim Ryan[27] | Christin Cooper[28] | Mary Carillo[29] and Cindy Nelson
Freestyle | Greg Lewis | Steven Smalley[30]
Men's Skiing | Brad Nessler[31] | Hank Kashiwa[32] and Billy Kidd[33] | Jim Gray
Bobsled | Sean McDonough[34] | John Morgan[35] | Lesley Visser
Figure Skating | Verne Lundquist[36] | Scott Hamilton[37] | Tracy Wilson[38] and Katarina Witt[39]
Hockey[40] | Mike Emrick[41] | John Davidson[42]
Mike Eruzione[43]
Luge | Sean McDonough[44] | John Fee[45][46]
Skijumping | Phil Liggett[47] | Jeff Hastings[48]
Shorttrack Speed Skating | Ken Squier[49] | Pat Maxwell
Cross Country | Al Trautwig[50]
Speed Skating | Dick Stockton[51] | Eric Heiden | Michael Barkann

### 1994 Winter Olympics

[edit]

Event  | Play-by-play | Color commentator(s)  | Reporter(s)

|
|
|

Skiing | Tim Ryan | Christin Cooper[52] and Andy Mill[53]
Freestyle | James Brown[54] | Park Smalley[55]
Nordic Combined | Phil Liggett[56] | Jeff Hastings[57]
Bobsled | Sean McDonough[58] | John Morgan[59] | Jim Gray
Figure Skating | Verne Lundquist[60] | Scott Hamilton[61] | Tracy Wilson[62]
Ice Hockey | Mike Emrick[63] | John Davidson[64]
Mike Eruzione[65]
Luge | Sean McDonough[66] | Bonny Warner[67] | Jim Gray
Skijumping | Phil Liggett[68] | Jeff Hastings[69]
Shorttrack Speed Skating | Ken Squier[70] | Paul Wylie
Cross Country | Al Trautwig[71] | Paul Robbins[72][73]
Biathlon | Lyle Nelson[74]
Speed Skating | Dick Stockton[75] | Eric Heiden[76]

### 1998 Winter Olympics

[edit]

Event  | Play-by-play | Color commentators | Reporters

|
|
|

Opening Ceremony | Jim Nantz | Andrea Joyce[77] | Al Trautwig, Michele Tafoya, and Lisa Kennedy Montgomery
Skiing | Tim Ryan[78] | Christin Cooper
Hank Kashiwa | Mary Carillo
Ken Read
Freestyle | Ted Robinson[79] | Park Smalley | Lisa Kennedy Montgomery
Bobsled | Gus Johnson | John Morgan | Craig James
Figure Skating | Verne Lundquist[80][81] | Scott Hamilton | Tracy Wilson
Ice hockey[82][83] | Sean McDonough[84] | John Davidson | Darren Pang
Ellen Weinberg[85]
Luge | Gus Johnson[86] | Bonny Warner
Skijumping | Al Trautwig[87] | Jeff Hastings
Snowboarding | Jim Rippey[88] | Steve Podborski | Lisa Kennedy Montgomery[89]
Shorttrack Speed Skating | Ted Robinson | Randy Bartz
Cross Country | Al Trautwig | Paul Robbins
Speed Skating | Gary Thorne[90] | Dan Jansen
Closing Ceremony | Jim Nantz | Andrea Joyce | Al Trautwig, Michele Tafoya, and Lisa Kennedy Montgomery
Features  | Jose Diaz-Balart[91]

|

## References

[edit]

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2. ^ a b c "CBS at 75". CBS. Archived from the original on February 15, 2010. Retrieved January 6, 2010.
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6. ^ CHRONICLE
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40. ^ Article: A LOOK AT THE OLYMPIC ANNOUNCERS
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53. ^ "Andy Mill - Colorado Ski Hall of Fame". Colorado Ski Hall of Fame. May 25, 2024.
54. ^ "James "JB" Brown's Biography". TheHistoryMakers. Retrieved May 25, 2024.
55. ^ "Ditka's learned lessons well in first year at NBC". The Beaver County Times. Knight-Ridder Newspapers. January 23, 1994. p. 14. Retrieved May 25, 2024.
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72. ^ Siner, Howard (February 2, 1994). "Norwegian Pastime. - Page 5". The Rockmart Journal. Retrieved May 25, 2024.
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* Viem hong hat dated March 20, 2019

## External links

[edit]

* Official website