NBC Sports Taps Molly Solomon to Head Olympics Production

NBC Sports has named Golf Channel executive Molly Solomon as NBC Olympics president and executive producer in charge of the network’s 2020 Olympics coverage.

Solomon, who will retain her position as Golf Channel executive producer, will oversee all day-to-day editorial production of NBC Olympics’ coverage of next summer's games from Tokyo, as well as content on the Olympic Channel, the company said. Solomon replaces longtime Olympics producer Jim Bell, who left the company earlier this month.

NBC Sports Group president Pete Bevacqua said on a Tuesday afternoon conference call that Solomon, who has been involved with NBC’s Olympics coverage since 1992, is a perfect fit for the position. “When you combine her passion and energy with the deep history she has at NBC Sports and the Olympics, I have to say that this was a very easy and obvious decision,” he said.

NBC Olympics president Gary Zenkel added that he’s looking forward to reuniting with Solomon for the 2020 Games. “She brings an amazing amount of energy, a great deal of creativity, and we have this incredibly ambitious plan leading into what should be one of the great Olympics of our career,” he said. “To have Molly plug in and apply not just her energy but some of her incredible creativity to how we present the Olympics is really a privilege for us, and it’s really exciting for the team.”

Solomon said she looks forward to bringing a “uniqueness” to the position. “My mantra as a producer is let’s innovate and search for fresh ways to tell the athlete stories,” she said.

R. Thomas Umstead

R. Thomas Umstead serves as senior content producer, programming for Multichannel News, Broadcasting + Cable and Next TV. During his more than 30-year career as a print and online journalist, Umstead has written articles on a variety of subjects ranging from TV technology, marketing and sports production to content distribution and development. He has provided expert commentary on television issues and trends for such TV, print, radio and streaming outlets as Fox News, CNBC, the Today show, USA Today, The New York Times and National Public Radio. Umstead has also filmed, produced and edited more than 100 original video interviews, profiles and news reports featuring key cable television executives as well as entertainers and celebrity personalities.