Katie Couric is returning to NBC for the 2018 Winter Olympics
With less than a month until the opening ceremonies on February 9th, excitement is building for the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea. And now, a former Today co-host has signed on to the event. Katie Couric announced today, January 17th, that she will return to NBC to host the 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremonies.
“I’m really excited to dive in and start really educating myself about this particular Olympics,” Couric said in an interview with CNNMoney. “For this one I think the geopolitical backdrop is so much more intense than previous games.”
Couric will be hosting the opening ceremonies on February 9th. She will be joined by NBC sports anchor Mike Tirico, who will replace Bob Costas as the prime-time Olympics host. Couric hosted the opening ceremonies during the 2000, 2002, and 2004 Olympics.
The journalist left Today in 2006, after serving as a co-host for 15 years. Since then, she has occasionally returned to the show, such as when current co-host Savannah Guthrie was on maternity leave in January 2017.
So excited to host the #winterolympics #openingceremony with @miketirico!! #PyeongChang2018 @nbcolympics @nbcsports https://t.co/T3YKGvYZGS pic.twitter.com/LbAfLG5TPx
— Katie Couric (@katiecouric) January 17, 2018
The announcement that Couric will briefly return to NBC comes just four days after she opened up about the firing of her former Today co-host, Matt Lauer. In November, Lauer, was fired for inappropriate sexual behavior. Couric remained mostly silent on the issue until January 13th, when she said in an interview with People that she had no idea Lauer was sexually harassing women but added that it was unacceptable that the women on staff had been treated this way.
“The whole thing has been very painful for me,” she told People. “The accounts I’ve read and heard have been disturbing, distressing, and disorienting and it’s completely unacceptable that any woman at the Today show experienced this kind of treatment.”
We know that hearing about her former coworker’s actions must be painful for Couric to process, so we’re glad she will still be returning to NBC for the Olympics. We can’t wait for the 2018 Winter Olympics, and we know Couric will do a great job hosting the opening ceremonies.
