The George Michael Sports Machine

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The George Michael Sports Machine is a long-running television show, syndicated by NBC (Usually aired on Sunday nights, and has in the past been distributed by ITC Entertainment and King World; it is currently distributed by NBC Universal Television Distribution). Hosted since its inception in 1984 by George Michael, a former WABC radio DJ who now works at the Washington, D.C. NBC owned and operated station, WRC-TV, the show presents clips from the weekend's sporting events from across the US, and sometimes Canada, if a given league includes teams there. Unlike newer sports-related programming, the Sports Machine does not present commentary or criticism, just the weekend's highlights, and sometimes an in-depth story about a particular athlete. The show is also somewhat unique in its occasional coverage of remarkable high school sports footage, and its occasional coverage of sports largely ignored by other sports wrap-up shows, such as equestrian events.

The show is sometimes derided for the large quantity of fake machinery on its set. Although the set has changed throughout the years, the theatrics have basically remained the same: after introducing each of the highlights, Michael then "activates" the machinery to play the video clips.

Another criticism of the show is the poor video quality of the highlights shown, the reason being to focus on the action of the games and take out the distraction of the digital on-screen graphics added by the networks. However, both ESPN and Fox Sports Net have also practiced this policy in the past in order to deny each others network's free ad time for their shows.

Since 2004, Michael has co-hosted the Sports Machine with former Speed Channel pit reporter (and fellow WRC sports anchor) Lindsay Czarniak, who was officially named co-host of the program in September 2006. However, this arrangment will not last long, as Michael announced on November 16, 2006 that he would be retiring and The George Michael Sports Machine would come off the air in March 2007, citing that he would not want his contract renewed at the expense of WRC's sports staff, which will be reduced under the NBCU 2.0 network-wide cost reduction initiative. He will continue to do sports panel shows and Redskins-related programs for WRC. ^[1]^[2]