When Alex Maragos joined NBC 5 Chicago as a reporter in 2015, he began eyeing the Olympics. NBC had been the U.S. rights holder for the Games for over a decade, and he figured if he could prove himself in his day-to-day work, he might get a chance to cover them.
He raised his hand for the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea and again for the 2020 Summer Games in Tokyo that were delayed a year because of the pandemic. His third try was the charm. He got the call to cover the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.
“The funny thing is, other than Dyersville, Iowa [for MLB’s Field of Dreams game], and a couple stories in Wisconsin and Indiana, my first time ever getting on a plane for a story was going to China,” said Maragos, a Chicago native.
After also covering the 2024 Summer Games in Paris, Maragos, 34, will be in Italy for the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics next month. The weekday news anchor again will be the only local-TV reporter on site for the Games, which run Feb. 6-22. He departs next Friday.
Maragos will be joined by NBC 5 videographer Mike McGovern, who will be covering his fifth Olympics. The two will collaborate with their counterparts from 11 other NBC owned-and-operated affiliates to cover their local athletes.
Preparation began about six months ago, with Maragos compiling a list of potential Olympians with Chicago-area ties. Eight are set to compete, four of which are on the women’s hockey team. Maragos connected with each and even attended the U.S. speedskating trials in Milwaukee. He has become an authority on the local Olympic community.
“Alex is one of the most committed people that we have in this building,” NBC Chicago president and general manager Kevin Cross said. “When we gave him the Olympic assignment years ago, he put everything he had into it. He’s now our go-to expert when it comes to who are our local Olympians. Alex has kind of cornered the market here in Chicago.”
In Milan, Maragos will put in long hours. He’ll follow a schedule nearly identical to the one he followed in Paris because Milan is in the same time zone. He’ll wake up at 4 a.m. so he can be on camera at 5, which in Chicago is the start of the previous night’s 10 p.m. newscast. He’ll do his live shots across the street from the Duomo di Milano cathedral.
He’ll return to his hotel for breakfast and to plan the day. His next hit is at 1 p.m. local time, which is the start of that day’s 6 a.m. newscast at home. Then his day begins in earnest covering the competitions, which go well into the night. Afterward, he’ll put together videos from the events and write scripts. If he’s lucky, he’ll be in bed by midnight, only to get up four hours later.
“I love it,” Maragos said. “The energy of the Olympics, it’s infectious. Between the world’s best athletes and their fans being in one place, the energy is all around. I’ve never covered a Super Bowl, but I imagine it’s like that for 17 days because all the energy is there. It’s a privilege to be able to present it.”
Maragos isn’t just presenting it on TV. He has social-media obligations, as well. He’ll be on Instagram posting videos of his coverage and experiences and filing more to NBC 5 digital producer Gabi Rodriguez for other use. Maragos wants to bring viewers to Milan and give them a taste of Italian culture.
“What I’m always trying to do every day I’m working is: What do you, the audience, want to see?” Maragos said. “How does it serve you? Not how easy is it for me to put together. How does it help you understand this thing that I’m talking about. In that mindset, you have to do each thing a little differently according to what the audience expects from that.”
Maragos is looking forward to the winter athletes celebrating the Games’ return to normalcy after the Beijing Games were burdened by the lingering effects of the pandemic.
“Summer got theirs,” he said. “They had Paris, and it was beautiful in every way. Winter athletes haven’t had that yet. That’s also a great human connection I’ll try to emphasize because no matter if you’re a regular person or training for the Olympics, we all lived through COVID. Imagine how hard it was on you. You weren’t training for an Olympics. Imagine it for them.”
Remote patrol
The Rams-Bears game Sunday drew 45.4 million viewers nationally on NBC and Peacock, making it the network’s most-watched NFL divisional playoff game ever. On NBC 5 Chicago, the game drew a 34.7 household rating, which is about 1.27 million households in the market. It also earned a 66 share, which is the percentage of TVs in the market tuned to the game. That means two-thirds of all TV watchers during the game were watching it.
• ESPN will carry the Blackhawks’ game against the Lightning at 6 p.m. Friday. The outstanding Bob Wischusen, analyst AJ Mleczko and reporter Leah Hextall will call it.
• The U (WCIU-Channel 26) will return as the exclusive local broadcast home for Sky games this year. The TV schedule will be released later.
MILAN CORTINA WINTER OLYMPICS
Feb. 6-22 on NBC 5, Peacock, CNBC and USA.
Opening ceremony
Feb. 6 live at 1 p.m., recorded at 7 on NBC 5.
Olympians with Chicago-area ties
Women’s hockey
- Kendall Coyne Schofield
- Hilary Knight
- Tessa Janecke
- Abbey Murphy
Speedskating
- Ethan Cepuran
- Emery Lehman
- Sarah Warren
Ski jumping
- Kevin Bickner
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