Meredith Vieira to Fill in for Bob Costas Olympic Coverage

With Bob Costas benched because of an eye infection, NBC is passing the ball to Meredith Vieira for hosting prime time Olympic coverage. 

Vieira will replace Matt Lauer who initially took over from Costas. Costas is suffering from complications of an eye infection.  This is the first time since 1988 that Costas has not hosted the coverage.

“Bob’s eye issue has improved but he’s not quite ready to do the show,” NBC Olympics Executive Producer Jim Bell told TODAY.com from Sochi on Thursday. “If your eyes are sensitive to bright lights, a TV studio is not the place to be.”

Lauer, who was also hosting the Today show while covering for Costas said on Friday “Meredith’s fantastic, she’ll be great, she really will, and I know she’s going to have a blast. It’s fun!”