Bob Costas is returning to the host desk for the 2021 National League Championship Series on TBS. According to Variety, this marks the first time Costas has worked event coverage for WarnerMedia.
He currently hosts Back On The Record, on Warner’s HBO, and contributes to CNN from time to time. Costas is also calling play-by-play of the ALDS between the Chicago White Sox and the Houston Astros on MLB Network.
Bob Costas divulged to Adam Schein that he doesn’t quite feel 100% like the same play-by-play voice he used to be. He echoed those sentiments to Variety.
“It’s my job to kind of move everything along, be the traffic cop asking a few good questions,” Costas said in the interview.
“It’s easier to host than it is to do play by play,” says Costas, who is focusing on “the big picture stuff. There’s much less pressure involved.”
Costas has not hosted a major event like this since Liam McHugh replaced him on Sunday Night Football coverage in 2017. That being said, WarnerMedia is thrilled with the addition, and now McHugh and Costas are co-workers once more.
“Bob’s passion for baseball is undeniable,” Craig Barry, Turner Sports’ chief content officer, said to Variety. “At the end of the day, he’s going to elevate our broadcast.”
WarnerMedia’s news and sports operations chairman Jeff Zucker has a friendship with Bob Costas dating back to the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul, where Zucker aided the broadcaster as a researcher. The company wouldn’t rule out a permanent role for Costas.
“Bob’s passion for baseball is undeniable, and his love for the game and his ability to contribute to the broadcast, I think it is something we are interested in,” Barry said. “He has a longstanding relationship with Jeff, and I think that has played to our benefit to have an opportunity to partner with him, and we are excited to see if that’s a fit.”
Game 1 of the NLCS plays out next Saturday, Oct. 16, on TBS.