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Maria Taylor takes center stage at NBC Sports

Before NBC Sports’ primetime broadcast Football on Sunday evening During the NFL season, Maria Taylor can be seen in the network studios for the preceding games. As a presenter of Football night in Americathe most watched weekly sports studio show since its debut in 2006, it has a special responsibility to keep viewers engaged and updated on what's happening in the league ahead of the decisive clash. The show has a large cast spread out in the studio and live from the match venue, but still remains collectively rooted on the pitch.

The Football night in America analyzes completed games and previews the primetime showdown that is about to begin. Taylor observes throughout the day and listens to what her colleagues have to say to prepare them for success on the studio show.

“It's the production meeting, everyone is in the same room,” said Taylor. “We eat together, we talk together [and] we felt each other out. That is a big part of [it] So when we come into the studio and the game suddenly ends, we can remember what the guy was happy about, what he was excited about, or what he was talking about during the game.”

Taylor has a number of colleagues with varying levels of experience, all of whom bring different viewpoints and contribute to insightful, interesting conversations. Devin McCourty, Chris Simms and Jason Garrett all bring tangible NFL experience and can simplify things for the audience. Taylor describes herself in her role as something of a point guard, a characterization that includes placing metaphorical building blocks to facilitate an engaging discussion.

“When you know someone is head over heels in love with an aspect of the game, I'm not afraid to give them a chance to talk about what they love,” Taylor said. “It's very important, and sometimes they even inspire each other, which is great.”

In their discussions about Football night in AmericaTaylor tries to make sure that she can openly express her personality and also sprinkles her opinions in. Demonstrating this is something she doesn't force, but rather tries to give viewers a natural, inviting milieu, as if they were having a conversation in her living room.

“I've always seen television as a more glammed-up version of me, but that's me,” Taylor said. “I think the audience can tell when you're faking it, and that's the last thing you want to do.”

Taylor is entering her third season as host of Football night in America after initially joining NBC Sports in 2021. She believes the show is unique and precedes a sports program that has become a must-see. In fact, Football on Sunday evening averaged 21.4 million viewers last season, up 8% from the previous year, and was also No. 1 on primetime television in all major metrics for the 13th consecutive year. Taylor is aware of the privilege and responsibility that comes before going on air and believes the program consistently delivers excellent information, analysis and storytelling.

“We're the only show that can really commentate on every single game on Sunday and pre-show the one game that nobody's seen yet,” Taylor said. “I think that's a unique space, but it's the first time analysts have been immersed in a game and it's a split-second reaction, so it's an instant reaction that you see and all the highlights that are on Twitter and so on, so I think that's unique.”

NBCUniversal acquired the broadcasting rights for the Big Ten Conference under a seven-year contract and began broadcasting the game last season in prime time on Saturday nights. Before the game with the main striker Big Ten Saturday night Taylor hosts in the NBC Sports studios Countdown for the Big Ten Colleges.

“It's like extracurricular fun for me. I also love talking about college and I watched every game, I would say, even before the Big Ten came back. So I was ready when it happened,” Taylor explained. “And the only thing that's really changed now is obviously the playoff format and the idea of ​​transfers. So you have to spend a little more time at the beginning of the season getting to know the rosters because a lot of things have changed.”

Taylor attended the University of Georgia on an athletic scholarship due to her ability in volleyball and basketball, combining the two while studying news broadcasting. Former Georgia athletic director Damon Evans served as a mentor to her and helped her land a job as a production assistant at International Sports Properties. Shortly after her time at the local level, which coincided with earning a master's degree in business administration, Taylor was hired by ESPN as a college analyst and reporter in 2014. After joining the company full-time, she continued with sideline coverage for games on the SEC Network and was named to the role Football on Saturday night on ABC three years later.

“You're kind of the first line of defense,” Taylor said of reporting from the sidelines. “I always say that as a reporter, you're in the trenches, and it's not the most glamorous job, and people don't always give sideline reporters the credit that they probably deserve, but that's kind of where I earned my skills as a reporter.”

While Taylor appeared at ESPN, she also worked on other studio programs as a reporter and anchor, including College Game Day And NBA Countdown. Before Taylor's contract with ESPN expired, NBA Countdown was planned as a pregame show for the 2020 NBA Finals, instead of The jumpmoderated by Rachel Nichols.

A conversation took place shortly afterward in which Nichols suggested that if ESPN wanted to give Taylor more work, it should “try it” because she has a “shitty long-standing record on diversity.” During the conversation, Nichols stated that ESPN would not view these alleged ventures as “taking away” for Taylor. A recording of the conversation, which took place with Adam Mendelsohn, an adviser to LeBron James and Rich Paul, was leaked a year later. It was recorded by a video camera that was turned on in Nichols' hotel room and connected to ESPN's servers.

Taylor and ESPN were unable to agree on a contract extension later that month, leading to her departure from the company. After the settlement, she subsequently agreed to a contract with NBC Sports and made her debut at the Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan, which were held a year later due to the global pandemic.

One reason Taylor chose the NBCUniversal division was because she wanted to continue performing at major events while still having time off. Up until that point, she estimated she had worked for about a decade without rest, and she was trying to get her life back on track. The time off allowed Taylor to undergo IVF and pregnancy to have her son earlier this year, after which she went on maternity leave.

“I remember talking to Molly Solomon and Fred Gaudelli at the time, and they said, 'This is what we want for you. We want you to have a family,'” Taylor recalls. “It was a conversation about the whole person. It wasn't just about broadcasting. 'Hey, you're a great fit here and [so on].' I could tell that NBC cared about me as a person and who I wanted to be as a wife and mother, and they supported me every step of the way.”

Taylor returned from maternity leave this summer to work as a late-night anchor during the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. It was her third assignment for NBCUniversal's coverage. During the broadcast in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower, she had the opportunity to speak with athletes, coaches and families. Taylor was part of the opening ceremony, which featured a boat parade on the Seine with athletes from 206 countries – an inimitable performance that kicked off the two-week event.

“I know it was raining, but being on the bottom of the boat and seeing something like Joel Embiid and LeBron James and literally everyone was sitting because nobody could stand because they were 7 feet tall and the boat wasn't big enough for everybody,” Taylor recalled, “but these are stories that you couldn't have imagined in your wildest dreams and you see them unfold before your eyes – and that was day one.”

Before the Olympic Games began, NBCUniversal announced that it had signed an 11-year media rights deal with the NBA to broadcast games starting in the 2025/26 season. The company will NBA on NBC Property with exclusive doubleheaders, the NBA All-Star Game, six Conference Finals series and broadcasts of the WNBA and select USA Basketball men's and women's games.

“Anything that's happening with the expansion of sports at NBC is a wonderful thing,” Taylor said. “It was great to hear that the Big Ten was coming to NBC and participating, and I think, yes, if my company asks me to work in the NBA space, I'll sign up.”

Taylor feels like she goes with the flow in her hosting duties, bringing a sharp intellect with comedic elements. She likes to crack jokes and respond to some of the analysis even when her colleagues aren't expecting it. Through it all, she's careful not to give up her authentic personality and offers informed opinions and insights while maintaining the flow of the program and adapting to last-minute adjustments.

“I want to be a leader who makes sure everyone is happy with the product they bring to market,” Taylor said, “and I do everything in my power to make sure we leave with that feeling.”

As she looks to the future, Taylor hopes to leave a legacy for the company that her son, niece and nephew can look back on with pride. After an invigorating stint at the Paris Olympics and settling into the college football and NFL seasons, she remains focused on performing with positive energy and then doing her best to convey that same attitude to her colleagues and audiences.

Taylor believes she is where she belongs and that her steps are right, which is reflected in her unflappable composure, which is rooted in her presenting instincts and extensive sports media expertise. At the same time, she hopes to inspire the next generation of women who want to work in the sports media business by rejecting stereotypes and biases and continuing to break glass ceilings.

“I may be the first woman in this seat, Football night in Americabut I'm not the first to deserve to sit there,” Taylor said, “so I have to make sure that I take the space that so many other women before me deserve and use it with the utmost respect and use it as an opportunity to pass it on to the next person or open the gate for the next person.”

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