Ryan Seacrest to join NBC’s Olympics coverage
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Ryan Seacrest’s much-hyped big NBC announcement finally arrived on Wednesday morning, but those expecting a major changing of the guard in morning TV were disappointed.
Instead, Seacrest added yet another job to his stuffed resume, announcing that he’s joining NBC’s prime-time coverage of the Olympics in London this summer.
The ubiquitous TV face also appeared on NBC’s ‘Today’ to quash an ongoing rumor that he would be joining the program, replacing Matt Lauer.
Lauer, who conducted the interview, got to that right off the bat, asking Seacrest, ‘What kind of conversations have you had with NBC about joining the ‘Today’ show?’
‘Oh, they didn’t tell you?’ Seacrest answered. He then went on to explain how E! and NBC are in the same corporate family (both part of NBCUniversal) and how he planned to participate more on NBC, including the Olympics, while still serving as host of E! News, E!’s red-carpet host for award shows and as a reality-TV producer of shows featuring the Kardashian sisters.
Good answer? Not for Lauer. ‘You didn’t answer the question,’ he said. ‘What conversations have you had with NBC officials about joining this program? I want names and dates.’
Seacrest said the conversations were mostly about doing the weather.
‘So Al [Roker] should be doing this interview,’ Lauer said.
Both men then tried to relieve any tension about the situation by revealing that they’ve had dinner and joked about the rumors that Seacrest would be replacing Lauer on the morning show.
‘I bought dinner,’ Lauer said. ‘Which I thought was completely inappropriate.’
Seacrest said Lauer should stay on ‘Today’ as long as he wants. Lauer said Seacrest would be great in his chair.
Meanwhile, Seacrest said he plans to stay on ‘American Idol’ for yet another season, though he stopped short of making the official announcement.
In addition to his TV hosting duties, he has the top-40 radio show ‘On Air With Ryan Seacrest’ and the internationally syndicated chart show ‘American Top 40.’
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-- Patrick Kevin Day
Left photo: Matt Lauer.
Right photo: Ryan Seacrest. Credit: Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times
