Seacrest joins NBC for Olympics

Associated Press

NEW YORK

Ryan Seacrest is coming to NBC, but he won’t be overthrowing Matt Lauer on the “Today” show.

The entertainment titan sat down with Lauer on Wednesday’s show to announce that he’ll be taking part in NBC’s coverage of the Summer Olympics.

It will be the first of “a lot of fun things” he expects to be doing at the network, Seacrest said.

That apparently was the “big NBC announcement” the network had been touting all week. But the more interesting part of the interview focused on persistent rumors that NBC might be teeing up Seacrest to replace Lauer at the “Today” anchor desk, should Lauer decide to leave in the near future. His contract runs out at the end of the year, and his departure could threaten a 15-year winning streak in viewership for “Today.”

Seacrest’s new NBC duties add to a remarkably crowded portfolio that includes hosting Fox’s “American Idol” and heading a production company that furnishes programming to many outlets, including NBC’s sister network E!, where Seacrest co-hosts “E! News.”