Variety's feature marks NBC's centenary by tracing how the network shaped modern sports broadcasting, from its first coast-to-coast sports transmission (the 1927 Rose Bowl) through to its current status as America's home of the Olympics and major leagues including the NFL, NBA, MLB and NHL. NBC Sports executives, including president Rick Cordella, frame the network's enduring philosophy as making "big events bigger" for viewers seeking drama and storytelling, a mindset that has driven a century of technical and programming innovations.

The piece highlights several milestones: NBC's pioneering nationwide baseball broadcasts in the 1950s, including director Harry Coyle's 1955 innovation of a centre-field camera angle still used today; the 20th anniversary of "Sunday Night Football" and "Football Night in America", conceived by former sports chief Dick Ebersol; and NBC's long Olympic history, from outbidding ABC for 1964 Tokyo Games rights for $1 million to committing $7.75 billion for US rights to Summer and Winter Games from 2022 to 2032. With the Los Angeles Summer Games less than two years away, executives including Molly Solomon are preparing what Cordella expects to be the network's biggest undertaking yet.