MARIA TAYLOR

Maria Taylor is a television host and producer. She is the host of Football Night in America, the most-watched studio show in sports, and the lead host of NBA Showtime, NBC Sports’ NBA studio show, and Basketball Night in America on Sundays.

In Jan. 2026, Taylor completed her fifth season as the host of Football Night in America, which averaged 8.8 million viewers from 7:30-8:15 p.m. ET in 2025 – the show’s largest season audience ever and up 14% from last season.

Taylor will host Super Bowl LX Pregame Show on NBC and Peacock at 1 p.m. ET on Feb. 8, 2026.

Following Super Bowl LX, Taylor will serve as a late night host of the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics, her fourth Olympic assignment.

She is the first female full-time host of Football Night. Additionally, beginning this spring, she will be NBC Sports’ lead WNBA studio host.

One of the most versatile hosts in sports, Taylor has also served as a host or co-host for the Tokyo, Beijing, and Paris Olympics; Big Ten College Countdown, NBC Sports’ primetime college football studio program; Roland-Garros semifinals and finals; and more.

Over an unprecedented 10-month period from 2021-2022, Taylor hosted or co-hosted the primetime network broadcast of the NFL Draft, the NBA Finals, the Tokyo Olympic Games, the Super Bowl, and the Winter Olympics in Beijing.

Taylor is executive producing and currently in production on an eight-part television documentary series on the history of the Black quarterback in the NFL.

Taylor won a Sports Emmy as part of NBCUniversal’s coverage of the 2024 Paris Olympics, which was honored as Outstanding Live Special – Championship Event. In 2021, Adweek named her one of the “Most Powerful Women in Sports.” In 2022, TIME Magazine included Taylor in their TIME100 Next list, which identifies the “emerging leaders who are shaping the future.” Taylor was also featured in the 2022 Giorgio Armani “Crossroads” campaign, celebrating the global stories of 12 women, exploring the determination it takes to push past social conventions and limitations to achieve one’s dreams.

A graduate of the University of Georgia, Taylor delivered the commencement address in May 2021, marking the 60-year anniversary of the university’s integration.