In its Olympic debut, Peacock’s ‘Gold Zone’ is an addictive hit with fans
Think of the Summer Olympics moments that stand out to you the most. Maybe it’s Jason Lezak in 2008 in Beijing, overtake Frenchman Alain Bernard in the final lap of the 4×100 meter freestyle relay to save Michael Phelps’ bid for eight gold medals. Perhaps Usain Bolt crossed the finish line in the men’s 4x100m relay in Rio to claim his ninth gold medal in as many Olympic attempts. Or just pick one of the four gold medals won by Simone Biles.
If you’re an avid Olympics watcher living in the United States, chances are you’ve been following these events through NBC’s prime-time coverage. But times are always a-changin’ in sports media, and for many Olympic watchers, memories of Paris will served via Peacock’s “Gold Zone, an NFL RedZone-inspired show airing daily from 7am-5pm on Peacock.
For those who have seen it, there is only one word for it: addictive. It is a super modern way to watch the Games. (Note: You will need a Peacock subscription to watch “Gold Zone,” or you can use your cable login through NBC’s website or the NBC Sports App. It will not be airing on linear NBC channels during the Olympics.) .)
If you watched “Gold Zone” on Monday,t 1:33 p.m. ET, as I did, here’s what you would have seen: A quad box on the screen showing the men’s team gymnastics final (where the U.S. went on to win bronze); a handball match between France and Norway; Spanish tennis star and world number 3 Carlos Alcaraz against Dutch tennis player Tallon Griekspoor; and Netherlands-China in women’s water polo.
There could be up to 40 events going on simultaneously during these Olympics, and “Gold Zone” promises to bring you coverage whenever a medal is on the line. For example, when the gold medal for the women’s 200-meter freestyle swimming was contested on Monday — featuring popular Australian swimmer Ariarne Titmus — “Gold Zone” had a double box that gave equal treatment to France’s Manon Apithy-Brunet who defeated compatriot Sara Balzer in the women’s individual sabre.
NBC said “Gold Zone” has been in the top five most-watched Olympic titles on Peacock since its launch on Saturday, with a 55 percent increase in the number of accounts viewing the title. between saturday and sunday.
Amy Rosenfeld, NBC’s senior vice president of Olympics and Paralympics production and the point person for “Gold Zone,” described the control room and monitor wall on “Gold Zone” as “something like NASA with all these different feeds coming in.” She said 30 people work on “Gold Zone” at NBC Sports headquarters in Stamford, Conn., and they were chosen because they have the personality to pull off this kind of tightrope act. “Gold Zone” uses two lead producers per shift. One producer talks to the talent on the radio and the other acts as a traffic cop.
“The orchestration of this is not for the faint of heart,” Rosenfeld said. “This show is so heavy and so tiring for the producers and directors, because every minute there’s something frantic happening.”
“Gold Zone” has four anchors who work shifts throughout the day. Matt Iseman and Jac Collinsworth clock in from 7 to 11 p.m. ET, followed by Andrew Siciliano (11 a.m. to 2 a.m. ET) and Scott Hanson (2 a.m. to end of day). Hanson and Siciliano are, of course, best known for their work as the Sunday anchors of NFL coverage. Hanson has been the host of “NFL RedZone” since its inaugural season in 2009. He is also a host for NFL Network. Siciliano was the host of the “RedZone Channel” on DIRECTV from 2005 to 2023.
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Rosenfeld said the show’s core is its researchers, which makes sense given the breadth of its coverage. The producers of “Gold Zone” approach each day with a loose format, but the reality is you can’t plan for the Olympics because, well, stuff happens. On “Gold Zone,” you might see a researcher giving a host a note on camera — or checking something out live on the radio — because the audience needs to be informed.
“We’ve told our talent that they’re not expected to be an expert in every element of every sport and that it’s OK to pull back the curtain,” Rosenfeld said. “People think it’s cool to get a peek behind the curtain.”
One of the people watching is George Privateer, who works in marketing and communication in Findlay, Ohio. Privateer volunteered to answer some questions from The Athletics about his “Gold Zone” experience. He isHe and his family watched “Gold Zone” broadcasts for about 10 hours on Saturday and Sunday.
“I’m a huge fan of ‘NFL RedZone,’ so when I heard they were trying the concept with the Olympics, I was really excited,” Privateer said. “One of the challenges of streaming something like the Olympics is knowing what sport to turn on and when. There are so many options, I would normally default to an event featuring Team USA athletes. I know the most watched sports get primetime coverage, but there’s drama and stories everywhere about the Olympics, and as fans, we miss out on a lot of that. ‘Gold Zone’ solves a lot of that.”
Privateer said he watched South Korea-China women’s team archery on “Gold Zone” on Sunday and thought it was great. He said he would never have seen that event without “Gold Zone.”
“‘‘Gold Zone’ got me there on that last lap because gold was on the line and I was totally invested in it,” Privateer said. “Would South Korea be a 10e straight gold? Could China pull off the upset? The commentators did a great job of explaining why this was important (South Korea has never lost the gold, but China beat them earlier in the year) and building up the drama. My wife, Christine, is much more of a casual Olympic fan than I am, but she found herself sucked into canoe slalom because of “Gold Zone. She could never have seen that on her own.”
Sean Burke, a Ph.D. student in Florida State University’s Department of Sport Management, also responded to our question. He said he’s been keeping the Olympics in “Gold Zone” since the whip-around coverage began.
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“I chose to watch ‘Gold Zone’ because of its similarity to ‘NFL RedZone,'” Burke said. “It’s made it easier to keep up with every Olympic sport. Plus, my love of watching ‘Gold Zone’ and having a second screen has prepared me for college football this fall. It’s also made it easier to adjust my sleep schedule. I can wake up in the morning and watch from 5 a.m. to 5 p.m. all day long and work on assignments for my PhD studies in the evening.”
NBC Olympics officials have been planning “Gold Zone” for more than a year, and Rosenfeld recalls Molly Solomon, the executive producer and president of NBC Olympics production, telling her years ago how much she wanted to do this kind of production. You’ve probably never heard of it Rosenfeld, but she was instrumental in building ESPN as a soccer destination. She served as the lead producer for all ESPN productions of the Men’s and Women’s World Cups of 1999 to 2014 and in June 2022 at NBC Sports.
Rosenfeld said she always thinks about how many boxes on the screen are too many and how such choices affect the viewer. She prefers fewer boxes when there’s a major medal at stake. She said she’s seen some good feedback on social media, including suggestions that Peacock shrink the “Gold Zone” logo and increase the size of the box when a quad box appears. (They listened to the audience.) Privateer said if he had one request for the “Gold Zone” producers, it would be to have Siciliano and Hanson co-present a three-hour block.
“Our mission is to super-serve you everywhere,” Rosenfeld said. “If we do our job right, you can be there with your popcorn and have every important Olympic moment delivered to you. You don’t have to touch your remote or sit at your computer trying to figure out what’s going to happen next, because we’re there.”
(Photo of Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz playing together in the Olympic doubles: Getty Images)
