Bob Costas returns as NBC’s host of the Summer Olympics

Bob Costas will return as NBC’s prime-time host for the 2016 Summer Olympics, the network announced Wednesday, extending his unprecedented run as the face of the Games for American viewers.

This will be Costas’ 11th time in the top seat, dating back to the 1992 Barcelona Games. No other U.S. commentator -- not even the venerable Jim McKay -- comes close to that record.

“Given his vast experience and uncanny expertise, simply put there is no one better,” NBC executive producer Jim Bell said in a statement.

The veteran TV personality is coming off perhaps his roughest Games; two years ago in Sochi, Russia, a persistent case of conjunctivitis forced him to step aside at one point.

“The Olympics are a unique television event,” Costas said in the statement, characterizing the international competition as “a three-week mini-series which, if done well, should bring viewers not only memorable athletic performances, but a sense of the host city and country, and an appreciation of what is a truly global gathering.”