In its Olympics debut, Peacock's 'Gold Zone' has been an addictive hit with fans

Think of the Summer Olympics moments that stayed with you the most. Maybe it’s Jason Lezak running down France’s Alain Bernard in the final lap of the 4×100 swimming free relay in Beijing in 2008 to save Michael Phelps’ bid for eight gold medals. Perhaps Usain Bolt crossing the finish line in the men’s 4×100-meter relay in Rio to take his ninth gold medal in as many Olympic tries. Or simply pick any of the four gold medals won by Simone Biles.

If you are a diehard Olympic viewer living in the United States, the likelihood is you watched those events via NBC’s prime-time coverage. But the times are always a-changing in sports media, and for many Olympic viewers, memories from Paris will be served up via Peacock’s “Gold Zone,” an “NFL RedZone”-inspired whip-around show that streams daily from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Peacock.

For those who have watched it, there is only word for it: addictive. It is an uber-modern way to watch the Games. (Note: You need a subscription to Peacock to watch “Gold Zone” or you can use your cable login credentials via NBC’s website or through the NBC Sports App. It will not be shown on any NBC linear channels during the Olympics.) .)

If you tuned into “Gold Zone” on Monday at 1:33 p.m. ET, as I did, here is what you would have witnessed: A quad box on screen that showed the men’s team gymnastics final (where the U.S. ultimately won bronze); a handball match between France and Norway; Spain tennis ace and World No. 3 Carlos Alcaraz against Dutch tennis player Tallon Griekspoor; and Netherlands-China in women’s water polo.

There can be up to 40 events happening simultaneously during these Olympics and “Gold Zone” pledges to bring you coverage anytime a medal is on the line. For instance: As the women’s 200-meter freestyle gold medal in swimming was being conducted on Monday — featuring the popular Australian swimmer Ariarne Titmus — “Gold Zone” had a double box that gave equal treatment to France’s Manon Apithy-Brunet defeating countrywoman Sara Balzer in women’s individual sabre.

NBC said since its launch on Saturday, “Gold Zone” has ranked in the top-5 most-watched Olympics titles on Peacock and had a 55 percent jump in the number of accounts that watched 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 housing the “Gold Zone” monitor wall as “something that looks like NASA with all of the different feeds coming in.” She said there are 30 people working on “Gold Zone” at the NBC Sports headquarters in Stamford, Conn., and they were chosen because they have the personality for this kind of high-wire act. “Gold Zone” uses two lead producers per shift. One producer is talking to the on-air talent and the other serves as a traffic cop.

“The orchestration of this is not for the faint of heart,” Rosenfeld said. “This show is so hard and so exhausting for the producers and directors because there’s something frantically happening in every minute.”

“Gold Zone” has four hosts working throughout the day in shifts. Matt Iseman and Jac Collinsworth clock in from 7 to 11 a.m. ET, followed by Andrew Siciliano (11 a.m.-2 p.m. ET) and Scott Hanson (2 p.m. to the conclusion of the day.) Hanson and Siciliano, of course, are well known for their respective work as Sunday guides of NFL coverage. Hanson has served as the host of “NFL RedZone” since its inaugural season in 2009. He is also an NFL Network host. Siciliano was the host of the “RedZone Channel” on DIRECTV from 2005 to 2023.

Rosenfeld said the core of the show is the researchers, which makes sense given the breadth of the coverage. The producers of “Gold Zone” approach each day with a loose format, but the reality is you cannot plan for the Olympics because, well, things happen. On “Gold Zone” you might see a researcher hand a host a note on camera — or check something on-air in real time — because the audience needs to be informed.

“We said to our talent that they are not expected to be an expert in every single element in every sport and it’s okay to pull the curtain back,” Rosenfeld said. “People think it is kind of cool to see the behind the scenes.”

One of the people watching is George Privateer, who works in marketing and communications in Findlay, Ohio. Privateer volunteered to answer some questions from The Athletic about his “Gold Zone” experience. He said he and his family watched about 10 hours of “Gold Zone” coverage on Saturday and Sunday.

“I’m a big 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 with streaming something like the Olympics is knowing what sport to turn on and when. There are so many options, I’d typically default to an event featuring Team USA athletes. I know the sports that get the big draw will get the prime-time coverage but there’s drama and stories all over the Olympics, and as fans, we miss a lot of it. ‘Gold Zone’ fixes much of that.”

Privateer said he watched South Korea-China in women’s team archery on “Gold Zone” on Sunday and loved it. He said he would have never encountered that event without “Gold Zone.”

“‘Gold Zone’ took me there during that last round because gold was on the line and I was totally invested,” Privateer said. “Would South Korea win a 10th straight gold? Could China pull the upset? The announcers did a great job of setting up why this was important (South Korea’s never lost the gold, but China beat them earlier in the year) and building the drama. My wife, Christine, is much more of a casual Olympics fan than I am, but she found herself getting sucked into canoe slalom because of ‘Gold Zone.’ She would have never watched that on her own.”

Sean Burke, a Ph.D. student in the Department of Sport Management at Florida State University, also responded to our query. He said he has kept the Olympics on “Gold Zone” from the moment the whip-around coverage came on.

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“I chose to watch ‘Gold Zone’ because of its resemblance to the ‘NFL RedZone,’” Burke said. “It has made it easier to keep up with every single Olympic sport. Moreover, my affection for watching ‘Gold Zone’ and having a second screen has prepared me for college football this fall. It’s also made adjusting my sleep schedule much easier. I can get up in the morning and watch wall-to-wall coverage from 5 a.m. to 5 p.m. and then work on assignments at night for my PhD studies.”

NBC Olympics officials have been planning “Gold Zone” for more than a year and Rosenfeld recalled 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 probably have not heard of Rosenfeld but she was instrumental in building ESPN as a soccer destination. She served as the lead producer for all of ESPN’s men’s and women’s World Cup productions from 1999 to 2014 and joined NBC Sports in June 2022.

Rosenfeld said she is always thinking about how many boxes on screen is too much and how such choices impact the viewer. She prefers fewer boxes when a major medal is being contested. She said she has seen quality feedback on social media, including suggestions that Peacock reduce the “Gold Zone” logo and increase the box size when a quad box appears. (They listened to the audience.) Privateer said if he had one request for “Gold Zone” producers it would be to have Siciliano and Hanson co-host one three-hour block together.

“Our mission is to have you be super-served everything,” Rosenfeld said. “If we’re doing our job right, you can be there with your popcorn and get delivered every important Olympic moment. You don’t have to touch your remote or be on your computer trying to figure out what’s happening next because we are here.”

(Photo of Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz, playing Olympic doubles together: Getty Images)