TCA: NBC, Part 3

Final items from the TCA Press Tour in Hollywood:

MSNBC

- MSNBC had a panel at the tour, and it was lively as expected - with Keith Olbermann taking a shot at Fox News and Chris Wallace and Karl Rove. about himself anchoring election coverage at the network. He took a swipe at archrival Bill O' Reilly as well, when asked about the loud-mouthed host possibly helming election coverage: “It would make it more interesting if Bill was on and did it live.”

NBC Sports

Lots to talk about here, given it's a big year for NBC Sports:

- The Olympics begin on August 8, and NBC is gearing up for loads of coverage on every event to be spread out on its broadcast and cable networks - 3600 hours worth. NBC Sports and Olympics chairman Dick Ebersol says the games will give Americans somethings to cheer for, given there's not a lot to cheer for right now.

NBC's news shows will have a heavy presence in China during the Olympics, with Brian Willams, Matt Lauer, and Meredith Vierra making the trip.

- NBC is gearing up for the upcoming NFL season and the 2009 Super Bowl, with a significant addition to the Football Night in America pre-game show - Dan Patrick, who reunites with Keith Olbermann to do highlights for the program. Both guys anchored SportsCenter together in the 1990s.

NBC is also having a extended presence at the Super Bowl Read by clicking here.

- A side note on Jay Leno: The soon-to-be ex-Tonight Show host showed up on Monday at TCA in disguise - silimar to what Jimmy Kimmel did last week - to ask questions about the Tonight Show transition happening next year. Like Kimmel, Leno ran out without asking questions.

Of course, like typical network executives who appear at these press tours, NBC took questions but refused to give answers - just the runaround. One of the execs executive spun what Jay Leno said about "being done with NBC - by next year" by saying his comments were taken out of context.

And now these exces are trying to put words in Leno's mouth. Really classy.

But guess what? Those exces actually have the upper hand. Leno isn't going anywhere - until the fourth quarter of 2009 - meaning his contract could be up anywhere from October 1 to December 31. Bet on the the latter date. Happy New Year.

And that's a wrap on TCA.