NBCSN was an American
sports television channel
Channel, channels, channeling, etc., may refer to:
Geography
* Channel (geography), in physical geography, a landform consisting of the outline (banks) of the path of a narrow body of water.
Australia
* Channel Country, region of outback Austral ...
owned by the
NBC Sports Group
NBC Sports Group is a division of NBCUniversal that is responsible for NBC Sports' media properties, encompassing the NBC television network's sports division as well as day-to-day operation of the company's sports-oriented cable networks and oth ...
division of
NBCUniversal
NBCUniversal Media, LLC is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate corporation owned by Comcast and headquartered at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, United States.
NBCUniversal is primari ...
, a subsidiary of
Comcast
Comcast Corporation (formerly known as American Cable Systems and Comcast Holdings),Before the AT&T merger in 2001, the parent company was Comcast Holdings Corporation. Comcast Holdings Corporation now refers to a subsidiary of Comcast Corpora ...
. It originally launched on July 1, 1995, as the Outdoor Life Network (OLN), which was dedicated to programming primarily involving fishing, hunting, outdoor adventure programs, and outdoor sports. By the turn of the 21st century, OLN became better known for its extensive coverage of the
Tour de France
The Tour de France () is an annual men's multiple-stage bicycle race primarily held in France, while also occasionally passing through nearby countries. Like the other Grand Tours (the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a España), it consists ...
but eventually began covering more "mainstream" sporting events, resulting in its relaunch as Versus in September 2006.
In 2011,
Comcast
Comcast Corporation (formerly known as American Cable Systems and Comcast Holdings),Before the AT&T merger in 2001, the parent company was Comcast Holdings Corporation. Comcast Holdings Corporation now refers to a subsidiary of Comcast Corpora ...
, the original owner of the network,
acquired a majority stake in
NBCUniversal
NBCUniversal Media, LLC is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate corporation owned by Comcast and headquartered at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, United States.
NBCUniversal is primari ...
. As a result, Comcast merged the operations of its pay channels with those of NBC. In particular, it aligned the operation of its sports channels with
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...
's sports division,
NBC Sports
NBC Sports is an American programming division of the broadcast network NBC, owned and operated by NBC Sports Group division of NBCUniversal and subsidiary of Comcast. The division is responsible for sports broadcasts on the network, and its d ...
. On January 1, 2012, Versus was rebranded as the NBC Sports Network. The branding was later shortened to NBCSN. By September 15, 2014, most of NBC Sports' operations, including NBCSN, had been moved to facilities in
Stamford, Connecticut
Stamford () is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut, outside of Manhattan. It is Connecticut's second-most populous city, behind Bridgeport. With a population of 135,470, Stamford passed Hartford and New Haven in population as of the 2020 ...
.
As of February 2020, NBCSN was distributed to 79.879 million homes and was the second most watched cable sports network (with only
ESPN
ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...
being more watched). On January 22, 2021, NBCUniversal announced that the network would cease operations by the end of the year; on December 31, 2021, the channel ceased broadcasting and most of NBCSN's programming was transferred to
USA Network
USA Network (simply USA) is an American basic cable television channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of Comcast's NBCUniversal through NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. It was originally launched in 1977 as Madison ...
,
CNBC
CNBC (formerly Consumer News and Business Channel) is an American basic cable business news channel. It provides business news programming on weekdays from 5:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., Eastern Time, while broadcasting talk sho ...
, and
Peacock
Peafowl is a common name for three bird species in the genera ''Pavo (genus), Pavo'' and ''Afropavo'' within the tribe Pavonini of the family Phasianidae, the pheasants and their allies. Male peafowl are referred to as peacocks, and female pea ...
.
[
]
History
As the Outdoor Life Network
The channel originally launched as the Outdoor Life Network (or OLN) on July 31, 1995; the name was licensed from ''Outdoor Life
''Outdoor Life'' is an outdoors magazine about camping, fishing, hunting, and survival. It is a sister magazine of ''Field & Stream''. Together with ''Sports Afield'', they are considered the Big Three of American outdoor publishing by Money (m ...
'' magazine. Its programming consisted of hunting, fishing, and outdoor adventure shows. In its early days, the channel reached around one million homes and found most of its carriage via the then-infant platforms of direct broadcast satellite
Satellite television is a service that delivers television programming to viewers by relaying it from a communications satellite orbiting the Earth directly to the viewer's location. The signals are received via an outdoor parabolic antenna comm ...
services and digital cable
Digital cable is the distribution of cable television using digital data and video compression. The technology was first developed by General Instrument. By 2000, most cable companies offered digital features, eventually replacing their previou ...
.[ The network was one of two (the other being ]Speedvision
Speed was an American sports-oriented cable and satellite television network that was owned by the Fox Sports Media Group division of 21st Century Fox. The network was dedicated to motorsports programming, including auto racing, as well as aut ...
) formed out of a partnership of Cox Cable
Cox Communications, Inc. (also known as Cox Cable and formerly Cox Broadcasting Corporation, Dimension Cable Services and Times-Mirror Cable) is an American digital cable television provider, telecommunications and home automation services. It i ...
and Times Mirror
The Times Mirror Company was an American newspaper and print media publisher from 1884 until 2000.
History
It had its roots in the Mirror Printing and Binding House, a commercial printing company founded in 1873, and the ''Los Angeles Times'' ...
which had combined their cable systems operations a year earlier. Outdoor Life was originally planned to have launched at the beginning of July 1995. However, it was delayed when Times Mirror decided to reassess its media holdings. Times Mirror decided to reduce its stake in the two new networks to 10%; bringing Comcast and Continental Cablevision
MediaOne Group, Inc. (Comcast MO Group, Inc.) was created by US WEST Inc, one of the original Baby Bells Regional Bell Operating Companies, acquisition of Boston-based Continental Cable and combined with its previously acquired Atlanta-based Wom ...
on as partners. The network initially had trouble gaining carriage and was also broadcast on several low power television stations.
In 1999, OLN acquired the U.S. broadcast rights to the Tour de France
The Tour de France () is an annual men's multiple-stage bicycle race primarily held in France, while also occasionally passing through nearby countries. Like the other Grand Tours (the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a España), it consists ...
for US$3 million. Coverage of the ''Tour'' on OLN brought substantially greater viewership to the then fledgling channel, due in part to the then-growing popularity of American rider Lance Armstrong
Lance Edward Armstrong (''né'' Gunderson; born September 18, 1971) is an American former professional road bicycle racing, road racing cyclist. Regarded as a sports icon for winning the Tour de France seven consecutive times from 1999 Tour de ...
. In 2004
2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO).
Events January
* January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...
, where Armstrong would aim for a record-breaking sixth straight Tour de France title, OLN would devote over 344 hours in July to coverage of the ''Tour'', along with documentaries and other original programming surrounding the event – which was promoted through a $20 million advertising campaign.
Overall, while its coverage of the Tour de France helped OLN expand its carriage to over 60 million homes, rumors surrounding Armstrong's possible retirement from racing led to concerns over OLN's emphasis on him (to the point that some critics referred to OLN as standing for "Only Lance Network"), with critics questioning whether the network could sustain itself without the viewership that Lance Armstrong's presence had brought to its coverage.
Following the 2005
File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...
''Tour'' (where Armstrong captured his seventh victory in the race, and announced his retirement from cycling afterward), OLN debuted a new lineup of programming–led by the acquisition of off-network reruns of the reality competition series '' Survivor''. OLN's executives believed that bringing ''Survivor'' into its lineup would fit well with the new direction it had planned for OLN, and could attract viewership from fans of the show who had watched it on CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...
, though it was also the first example to prove that traditional repeats of reality competitions with the results already known was an unviable strategy.[
Around the same period, OLN also acquired the rights to the ]Dakar Rally
The Dakar Rally (or simply "The Dakar"; formerly known as the "Paris–Dakar Rally") is an annual rally raid organised by the Amaury Sport Organisation. Most events since the inception in 1978 were staged from Paris, France, to Dakar, Senegal, ...
, America's Cup
The America's Cup, informally known as the Auld Mug, is a trophy awarded in the sport of sailing. It is the oldest international competition still operating in any sport. America's Cup match races are held between two sailing yachts: one f ...
, the Boston Marathon
The Boston Marathon is an annual marathon race hosted by several cities and towns in greater Boston in eastern Massachusetts, United States. It is traditionally held on Patriots' Day, the third Monday of April. Begun in 1897, the event was i ...
, and the Iditarod
The Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, more commonly known as The Iditarod, is an annual long-distance sled dog race run in early March. It travels from Anchorage to Nome, entirely within the US state of Alaska. Mushers and a team of between 12 ...
. OLN planned to cover these events in a similar style to how it covered the ''Tour'', hoping that its coverage might bring "surprise" results for the channel. Due in part to Lance's absence from the ''Tour'' in 2006, its ratings for live coverage of the first four stages of the race drew in 49% fewer viewers than previous years.
OLN and the NHL
In May 2005, ESPN
ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...
rejected a $60 million offer to renew its broadcasting contract with the National Hockey League
The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...
into the 2005-06 NHL season, and the league rejected its alternate proposal for a revenue sharing agreement similar to the one it had established with NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...
. With the NFL also shopping a new late-season package of Thursday and Saturday night games to potential broadcasters, speculation began to surface that Comcast would bid on the new NHL contract as its first step to transforming OLN into a mainstream sports channel that could compete with ESPN. Comcast had already been involved in NHL broadcasting; at the time, it owned majority control of the Philadelphia Flyers
The Philadelphia Flyers are a professional ice hockey team based in Philadelphia. The Flyers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home games in Wells ...
, and four Comcast SportsNet
NBC Sports Regional Networks is the collective name for a group of regional sports networks in the United States that are primarily owned and operated by the NBCUniversal division of the cable television company Comcast. The networks were origin ...
regional sports network
In the United States and Canada, a regional sports network (RSN) is a cable television channel (many of which are also distributed on direct broadcast satellite services) that presents sports programming to a local market or geographical region.
...
s.
In August 2005, ESPN declined to match Comcast's offer, and OLN acquired pay television rights to the NHL beginning in the 2005–2006 season in a three-year deal worth close to $200 million. The new deal would include 58 regular season games on Monday and Tuesday nights, coverage of the NHL All-Star Game
The National Hockey League All-Star Game (french: Match des Étoiles de la Ligue Nationale de Hockey, links=no) is an exhibition ice hockey game that is traditionally held during the regular season of the National Hockey League (NHL), with many o ...
, conference finals, and the first two games of the Stanley Cup Finals
The Stanley Cup Finals in ice hockey (also known as the Stanley Cup Final among various media, french: Finale de la Coupe Stanley) is the National Hockey League's (NHL) championship series to determine the winner of the Stanley Cup, North America ...
. With the help of its new NHL package, by June 2006, OLN had now reached 75 million subscribers. However, due in part to OLN's lesser carriage in comparison to ESPN, the NHL's ratings that season had suffered in comparison.
In 2006, OLN broadcast selected games in the Arena Football League
The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 season, making it the third longest-running professional football league in ...
's 2006 season. The channel televised a weekly regular-season game for 11 weeks as well as a wild card playoff game. However, the agreement was not renewed and was later picked up by ESPN
ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...
, who also acquired a minority stake in the league's ownership.
As Versus
In April 2006, Comcast announced that it would be renaming Outdoor Life Network to Versus in the fall of 2006. As the network had shifted beyond simply "outdoor" programming, the name "Versus" was intended to represent the common element of competition within its lineup. OLN's re-launch as Versus occurred on September 25, 2006.
Among the new programming acquired by Versus was a number of combat sports
A combat sport, or fighting sport, is a competitive contact sport that usually involves one-on-one combat. In many combat sports, a contestant wins by scoring more points than the opponent, submitting the opponent with a hold, disabling the oppo ...
, beginning with a series of boxing
Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermined ...
programs promoted by Bob Arum
Robert Arum (born December 8, 1931) is an American lawyer and boxing promoter. He is the founder and CEO of Top Rank, a professional boxing promotion company based in Las Vegas. Prior to becoming a boxing promoter, Arum was employed as an attorn ...
's Top Rank group. The channel also began televising Chuck Norris
Carlos Ray "Chuck" Norris (born March 10, 1940) is an American martial artist and actor. He is a black belt in Tang Soo Do, Brazilian jiu jitsu and judo. After serving in the United States Air Force, Norris won many martial arts championshi ...
's World Combat League
The World Combat League (WCL) was a full contact, team-based kickboxing promotion. It was founded by movie star and martial artist Chuck Norris.
Rules
The rules are typical of other full contact striking competitions, with some minor variati ...
, a kickboxing
Kickboxing is a combat sports, combat sport focused on kicking and punch (strike), punching. The combat takes place in a boxing ring, normally with boxing gloves, mouthguards, shorts, and bare feet to favour the use of kicks. Kickboxing is pract ...
promotion where fights are contested in a unique round ring without ropes. Versus entered into a partnership with World Extreme Cagefighting
World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) was an American mixed martial arts, mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion founded in 2001. It was purchased by Zuffa, LLC, the parent company of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC ...
(WEC) to bring mixed martial arts
Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, inc ...
events to the channel, with the first being broadcast live on June 3, 2007. Versus aired all the WEC events, except for WEC 48
'' UFC Presents: Aldo vs. Faber'', also referred to as ''WEC 48: Aldo vs. Faber'' was a mixed martial arts event held by World Extreme Cagefighting that took place on April 24, 2010 at ARCO Arena in Sacramento, California. This was WEC's first ...
, which aired on pay-per-view, with live preliminary fights being aired on Spike TV
Paramount Network is an American basic cable television channel owned by the MTV Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Media Networks. The network's headquarters are located at the Paramount Pictures studio lot in Los Angeles.
The channel was o ...
.
The channel also added a variety of sports events as part of the rebranding, including men's and women's college basketball, high school basketball, a weekly "game of the week" for the National Lacrosse League
The National Lacrosse League (NLL) is a men's professional box lacrosse league in North America. The league is headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
The NLL currently has fifteen teams: ten in the United Stat ...
, darts competitions, the Major Indoor Soccer League, and the USA Sevens
The USA Sevens is a rugby sevens tournament held annually during March in the United States. The USA Sevens is the largest annual rugby competition in North America, drawing over 60,000 fans, and is broadcast live in the United States by ESPN. ...
, one of the nine tournaments (then eight) that make up the IRB Sevens World Series
The World Rugby Men's Sevens Series is an annual series of international rugby sevens tournaments run by World Rugby featuring national sevens teams. Organised for the first time in the 1999–2000 season as the IRB World Sevens Series, the com ...
, the top annual circuit in the sevens version of rugby union
Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...
.
In addition, Versus also added a package of college football games
A college (Latin: ''collegium'') is an educational institution or a constituent part of one. A college may be a degree-awarding tertiary educational institution, a part of a collegiate or federal university, an institution offering ...
to its lineup, with games from the Mountain West Conference
The Mountain West Conference (MW) is one of the collegiate athletic conferences affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) (formerly I-A). The MW officially began operations o ...
, Pac-10
The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference, that operates in the Western United States, participating in 24 sports at the NCAA Division I level. Its College football, football teams compete in the NCAA D ...
(now Pac-12) and Big 12
The Big 12 Conference is a college athletic conference headquartered in Irving, Texas, USA. It consists of ten full-member universities. It is a member of Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) for all sports. Its fo ...
conferences. totaling 19 scheduled college football games on the channel during 2007.
Versus secured coverage for the 2007 America's Cup
The 2007 America's Cup was the thirty-second challenge for the America's Cup and was won by Alinghi in the 7th race. The Cup is the most famous and most prestigious regatta and ''Match Race'' in the sport of sailing.
As per the Deed of Gift o ...
, which had been a staple on ESPN and ESPN2 for years. The channel began to show qualifying regattas in late 2005, aired the Louis Vuitton Cup
The Louis Vuitton Cup was the name of the Challenger Selection Series sailing competition from 1983, named after its sponsor, Louis Vuitton. The winner of the competition became the challenger to compete with the defender of the America's Cu ...
for challengers in 2007, and the America's Cup match between the Louis Vuitton winner and current champions, won by ''Alinghi
Alinghi, or Alinghi Red Bull Racing because of the sports marketing branding by Red Bull, is the syndicate set up by Ernesto Bertarelli, racing under the colors of the Société Nautique de Genève, to challenge for the America's Cup, as well as ...
'' of Switzerland in Valencia, Spain
Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the autonomous community of Valencia and the third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is also the capital of the province of the same name. The wider urban area also ...
. In 2006, it picked up American broadcast rights (in conjunction with The Tennis Channel) of Davis Cup
The Davis Cup is the premier international team event in men's tennis. It is run by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and is contested annually between teams from competing countries in a knock-out format. It is described by the organis ...
events.
Versus, with NBC Sports
NBC Sports is an American programming division of the broadcast network NBC, owned and operated by NBC Sports Group division of NBCUniversal and subsidiary of Comcast. The division is responsible for sports broadcasts on the network, and its d ...
and the World Championship Sports Network (later Universal Sports
Universal Sports was an American sports-oriented digital cable and satellite television network. It was owned as a joint venture between InterMedia Partners (which owned a controlling 92% interest) and NBCUniversal (which owned the remaining 8%). ...
), broadcast coverage of the 2007 World Championships in Athletics
The 11th World Championships in Athletics, () under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), were held at Nagai Stadium in Osaka, Japan from 24 August to 2 September 2007. 200 of the IAAF's 212 member federat ...
from Osaka, Japan, as well as the 2009 World Championships in Athletics
The 12th IAAF World Championships in Athletics () were held in Berlin, Germany from 15–23 August 2009. The majority of events took place in the Olympiastadion, while the marathon and racewalking events started and finished at the Brandenburg ...
from Berlin, Germany.
On January 28, 2008, Versus and the NHL extended their television contract through the 2010–11 season. In June 2008, operations were moved from Stamford, Connecticut
Stamford () is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut, outside of Manhattan. It is Connecticut's second-most populous city, behind Bridgeport. With a population of 135,470, Stamford passed Hartford and New Haven in population as of the 2020 ...
, to Comcast's headquarters in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
. On August 7, 2008, the channel announced a 10-year deal with the Indy Racing League
The IndyCar Series, currently known as the NTT IndyCar Series under sponsorship, is the highest class of regional North American open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars in the United States, which has been conducted under the auspices of ...
to broadcast at least 13 IndyCar Series
The IndyCar Series, currently known as the NTT IndyCar Series under sponsorship, is the highest class of regional North American open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars in the United States, which has been conducted under the auspices of ...
events a year in HD, beginning in 2009. The channel would also broadcast various motorsports series on its ''Lucas Oil Motorsports Hour'' program such as USAC, the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series
Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series is a dirt late model touring series owned and operated by Lucas Oil. The series competes on dirt ovals across the United States, primarily throughout the east coast and the midwest. The cars feature a purpose-bu ...
, and World Series of Off-Road Racing
The Lucas Oil World Series of Off-Road Racing (WSORR) was an American off-road racing series. The series began in 2007 and it ended after the 2008 season.
Classes
WSORR sanctioned classes from Trophy Trucks down to grassroots racers. Feature cl ...
.
The channel aired the 96th Grey Cup
The 96th Grey Cup was held in Montreal, Quebec at Olympic Stadium on November 23, 2008. The East Division champion Montreal Alouettes hosted the West Division champion Calgary Stampeders. The Stampeders won the game 22–14, with quarterback Henry ...
, the championship game of the Canadian Football League
The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...
in 2008.
The channel began airing games from the United Football League in 2009. The first season Championship aired on November 27, 2009. The UFL would return to the channel for a second season in 2010.
On April 5, 2010, Versus debuted ''The Daily Line'', a sports betting
Sports betting is the activity of predicting sports results and placing a wager on the outcome. The frequency of sports bet upon varies by culture, with the vast majority of bets being placed on association football, American football, basket ...
show consisting of a four-person panel (host Liam McHugh
Liam McHugh (born ) is an American television sportscaster. He is a studio host for Turner Sports coverage of the NHL. He previously worked on NBC Sports coverage of the NHL as well as Notre Dame Fighting Irish football and '' NBC Sunday N ...
before moving to NBC Sports, handicapper Rob DeAngelis
Rob or ROB may refer to:
Places
* Rob, Velike Lašče, a settlement in Slovenia
* Roberts International Airport (IATA code ROB), in Monrovia, Liberia
People
* Rob (given name), a given name or nickname, e.g., for Robert(o), Robin/Robyn
* Rob (s ...
, comedian Reese Waters
Reese Waters (born October 22, 1980) is an American comedian, commentator and writer. He was the host of ''Get Up DC!'' on WUSA, the CBS affiliate in Washington, District of Columbia.
Early life and education
Waters was born in Prince George's ...
, and Jenn Sterger
Jennifer Lynette Sterger (born November 29, 1983) is an American model, television personality, and former online columnist for ''Sports Illustrated''. She has worked as the "Gameday Host" for the New York Jets and was a co-host of the Versus s ...
) who discussed, often with heavy satire, sports-related topics that were popular that day. However, the show was cancelled due to low viewership on November 4, 2010. It was revived by NBC Sports Radio
NBC Sports Radio was a sports radio network that debuted on September 4, 2012. The network content was produced by the NBC Sports Group division of NBCUniversal and distributed by Westwood One, which is the corporate successor to the remains of ...
in 2019 after the PASPA Act was declared unconstitutional, though NBCSN instead blended betting content into regular programming.
The Ultimate Fighting Championship would air two live events on the channel due to the new contract agreement with UFC sister promotion World Extreme Cagefighting. The first edition of ''UFC on Versus'' aired on March 21, 2010, headlined by Brandon Vera
Brandon Michael Vera (born October 10, 1977), or also known by his ring name as The Truth, is a Filipino-American (of Italian heritage) retired mixed martial artist where he was the inaugural ONE Heavyweight Champion and the 2005 WEC Heavyweigh ...
vs. Jon Jones
Jonathan Dwight Jones (born July 19, 1987) is an American professional mixed martial artist currently signed to the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), in which he has competed in the light heavyweight division. He is a former two-time UFC L ...
in the Light Heavyweight division. The second event aired on August 1 with Jon Jones
Jonathan Dwight Jones (born July 19, 1987) is an American professional mixed martial artist currently signed to the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), in which he has competed in the light heavyweight division. He is a former two-time UFC L ...
facing Vladimir Matyushenko
Vladimir Vladimirovich Matyushenko ( be, Уладзімір Уладзіміравіч Мацюшэнка, ''Uladzimir Uladzimiravič Maciušenka''; born 4 January 1971) is a Belarusian retired mixed martial artist. A professional from 1997 u ...
. Also as part of the agreement with the UFC, several UFC Countdown shows would air. A countdown show aired the week of a pay-per-view
Pay-per-view (PPV) is a type of pay television or webcast service that enables a viewer to pay to watch individual events via private telecast.
Events can be purchased through a multichannel television platform using their electronic program guid ...
event, usually lasting for one hour, and covering 2–3 of the biggest fights on the card. In August 2011, the UFC announced a new broadcasting deal with the channels of rival Fox Sports
Fox Sports is the brand name for a number of sports channels, broadcast divisions, programming, and other media around the world.
The ''Fox Sports'' name has since been used for other sports media assets. These assets are held mainly by the Fo ...
, which would begin to take effect in November 2011.
Versus had also struck a deal with the NBA to air 10 regular season NBA Development League
The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is the National Basketball Association's (NBA) official List of developmental and minor sports leagues, minor league basketball organization. The league was known as the National Basketball Development ...
Saturday night games, as well as six playoff games a year. In total, the channel would air 16 NBA Development League games, in addition to 25 hours of NBA specials.
Starting in August 2010, Versus aired nine races of the NASCAR
The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and hi ...
Whelen Modified Tour
The NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour (NWMT) (previously the NASCAR Winston Modified Tour and NASCAR Featherlite Modified Series from 1985 until 2005) is a modified stock car racing series owned and operated by NASCAR in the Modified Division. The Mod ...
and NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour
The NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour (WSMT) was a stock car racing series owned by NASCAR and operated in the Southeastern United States as part of its Modified Division. The series began in 1989 as the Southern Modified Auto Racing Teams (S. ...
each Wednesday at 7 p.m. The races originated from a variety of locations, including Stafford Motor Speedway
Stafford Motor Speedway is a semi-banked 1/2 mile paved oval located in Stafford Springs, Connecticut. Stafford Speedway holds weekly racing every Friday night May through September. This track is known as the home of the SK Modifieds and driv ...
, Tri-County Speedway, and Thompson Motor Speedway.
Merger with NBC Sports
In February 2011, Comcast acquired a majority stake in NBC Universal
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...
, and merged its content operations into the company. As part of the acquisition, Versus and Comcast's other sports channels began to be integrated into the NBC Sports
NBC Sports is an American programming division of the broadcast network NBC, owned and operated by NBC Sports Group division of NBCUniversal and subsidiary of Comcast. The division is responsible for sports broadcasts on the network, and its d ...
division. Coinciding with the merger, President Jamie Davis was replaced by Comcast Sports Group president Jon Litner. Litner began to oversee the channel, in addition to his other duties following the Comcast takeover.
In March 2011, Versus expanded its college football coverage by becoming the pay-TV partner for NBC's coverage of Notre Dame football
The Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team is the intercollegiate football team representing the University of Notre Dame in Notre Dame, Indiana, north of the city of South Bend, Indiana. The team plays its home games at the campus' Notre Dame ...
, airing replays of Notre Dame games, and the first ever live broadcast of the team's annual spring game. Its coverage began with a marathon of three classic Fighting Irish games on March 17, St. Patrick's Day, to serve as a prelude to its coverage of the spring game.
For the 2011 season, Versus also returned to airing National Lacrosse League
The National Lacrosse League (NLL) is a men's professional box lacrosse league in North America. The league is headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
The NLL currently has fifteen teams: ten in the United Stat ...
telecasts with a nine-game package, starting with the 2011 All-Star Game and culminating with the Champion's Cup
The National Lacrosse League Cup is the trophy awarded each year to the champions of the National Lacrosse League. Prior to 2018, the league awarded the Champions Cup.
Winners
Most Valuable Players
All-time Finals appearances since leagu ...
final. Versus would drop the NLL for the league's 2012 season; U.S. broadcast rights were instead picked up by CBS Sports Network
CBS Sports Network (a.k.a. CBSSN) is an American pay television network owned by the CBS Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global. When it launched in 2002 as the National College Sports Network (later College Sports Television also known as ...
.
Relaunch as the NBC Sports Network / NBCSN
In April 2011, NBC Sports and Versus announced they had reached a ten-year extension to their television contract with the National Hockey League worth nearly $2 billion over the life of the contract. As part of the announcement, Dick Ebersol
Duncan "Dick" Ebersol (; born July 28, 1947) is an American television executive and a senior adviser for NBC Universal Sports & Olympics. He had previously been the chairman of NBC Sports, producing large-scale television events such as the O ...
, the former chairman of NBC Sports, said that Versus would be renamed "within 90 days" in order to reflect the synergy resulting from the merger. However, the announcement of a new name did not come until August 1, 2011, when Comcast announced that Versus would be relaunched as the NBC Sports Network (NBCSN) on January 1, 2012. The relaunch coincided with NBC's coverage of the NHL Winter Classic, which took place on the same day.
In an interview with ''TV Guide
TV Guide is an American digital media company that provides television program
Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or t ...
'', president of programming Jon Miller stated that NBCSN was to be positioned as a credible "full-service sports network", dropping low-brow programming (such as ''Whacked Out Sports
''Whacked Out Sports'' is an American television syndication, syndicated Reality show, reality television series which features professional and amateur videos of sports-related mishaps, crashes and bloopers. The show has a comedic theme and uses ...
'' and '' The T.Ocho Show'') in favor of focusing on event coverage, and sports news and talk programs, including new original programming. NBC also made efforts to expand its current broadcasting relationships and acquire new rights for additional sports events to be broadcast on the channel. In the months leading up to the relaunch, NBC struck deals with Major League Soccer
Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...
, dropped the UFL, and added coverage of college hockey
College ice hockey is played principally in the United States and Canada, though leagues exist outside North America.
In the United States, competitive "college hockey" refers to ice hockey played between colleges and universities within the g ...
games.
On June 6, 2011, it was revealed that NBC Sports would extend its rights to the Olympic Games
The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...
through 2020, outbidding competing bids by Fox Sports and ESPN
ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...
in a $4.38 billion contract. The network began to participate in NBC's overall coverage beginning at the 2012 Summer Olympics
The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...
. Its coverage of the gold medal game between the United States and Japan in women's soccer
Women's association football, more commonly known simply as women's football or women's soccer, is a team sport of association football when played by women only. It is played at the professional level in multiple countries and 176 national ...
set a new viewership record for the network, with 4.35 million viewers.
Almost immediately after the rebrand, the shortened moniker "NBCSN" began to be used in TV listings to refer to the network. In July 2013, the network announced its intention to use this abbreviation on an official basis. On August 18, 2013, commentators and graphics began to refer to the network as "NBCSN".[ The change was made to help streamline its branding in preparation for the ]2014 Winter Olympics
, ''Zharkie. Zimnie. Tvoi'')
, nations = 88
, events = 98 in 7 sports (15 disciplines)
, athletes = 2,873
, opening = 7 February 2014
, closing = 23 February 2014
, opened_by = President Vladimir Putin
, cauldron =
, stadium = Fisht Olympic ...
, by which time the name change was mostly complete.
On September 22, 2013, NBCSN broadcast an episode of ''Under Wild Skies''—a hunting
Hunting is the human activity, human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, or killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to harvest food (i.e. meat) and useful animal products (fur/hide (skin), hide, ...
program aired as a time-buy by the National Rifle Association of America
The National Rifle Association of America (NRA) is a gun rights advocacy group based in the United States. Founded in 1871 to advance rifle marksmanship, the modern NRA has become a prominent gun rights lobbying organization while cont ...
—in which host and NRA lobbyist Tony Makris was shown killing an African elephant on a trip to Botswana
Botswana (, ), officially the Republic of Botswana ( tn, Lefatshe la Botswana, label=Setswana, ), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory being the Kalahar ...
. The network was criticized by the media for airing such material; while NBC responded by pulling the episode due to its "objectionable" content and stating that it would be more "aggressive" towards the content of future episodes of the program. ''Under Wild Skies'' was pulled from the network entirely after Makris made remarks on an NRA-produced webcast comparing critics of the show to Hitler
Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Germany from 1933 until his death in 1945. He rose to power as the leader of the Nazi Party, becoming the chancellor in 1933 and then ...
. The network's outdoors block, its final connection with its OLN era, was slowly wound down by 2016 with natural contract expirations, as the outdoor networks of Kroenke Sports & Entertainment
Kroenke Sports & Entertainment (KSE) is an American sports and entertainment holding company based in Denver, Colorado. Originally known as Kroenke Sports Enterprises, it was started in 1999 by businessman Stan Kroenke to be the parent company ...
effectively monopolized the market through their own three networks, along with streaming providers. The editorial standards for those venues also had more tolerance to the firearms-centric genre (and advertiser base) of outdoors programming.
NBCSN simulcast Spanish-language coverage of two matches from the 2018 FIFA World Cup
The 2018 FIFA World Cup was the 21st FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's national Association football, football teams organized by FIFA. It took place in Russia from 14 June to 15 July 2018, after the country was awa ...
from corporate sibling Telemundo
Telemundo (; formerly NetSpan) is an American Spanish-language Terrestrial television, terrestrial television network owned by NBCUniversal Television and Streaming#NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises, NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises, a divi ...
: Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
vs. Switzerland
). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
on June 17, and England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
vs. Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
on June 28.
In December 2018, the yearly ratings rankings for American sports networks saw NBCSN rank second for the first time, ahead of ESPN2
ESPN2 is an American multinational pay television network owned by ESPN Inc., a joint venture between The Walt Disney Company (which owns a controlling 80% stake) and Hearst Communications (which owns the remaining 20%).
ESPN2 was initially fo ...
, which fell below the second spot for the first time in its history.
Because of Comcast's acquisition of Sky plc
Sky Group Limited is a British media and telecommunications conglomerate, which is a division of Comcast, and headquartered in London. It has operations in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Italy. Sky is Europe's l ...
, NBCSN partnered with the British media firm's Sky Sports
Sky Sports is a group of British subscription sports channels operated by the satellite pay television company Sky Group (a division of Comcast), and is the dominant subscription television sports brand in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It ...
division on coverage of international events. The first collaboration came at the Premier League transfer deadline
A transfer window is the period during the year in which a football club can transfer players from other playing staff into their playing staff. Such a transfer is completed by registering the player into the new club through FIFA. "Transfer w ...
in January 2019. Two months later, NBCSN added an hour-long simulcast of the Sky Sports News
Sky Sports News (SSN) is a British pay television, paid television sports news channel run by Sky Limited, Sky, a division of Comcast.
History
Since 1992, Sky Sports had broadcast sports news, initially a brief ''Football Update'' and lat ...
channel to its weekday morning lineup, returning that program to the American airwaves for the first time since the discontinuation of Fox Soccer
Fox Soccer (formerly Fox Soccer Channel & Fox Sports World before that) was an American television specialty channel specializing in soccer, owned by Fox Corporation, which operated from 1997 to 2013. It formerly broadcast rugby and Australian ...
in September 2013.
Closure
On January 22, 2021, an internal memo sent by NBC Sports president Pete Bevacqua announced that the network would cease operations by the end of the year, and that USA Network
USA Network (simply USA) is an American basic cable television channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of Comcast's NBCUniversal through NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. It was originally launched in 1977 as Madison ...
and NBC would begin "carrying and/or simulcasting certain NBC Sports programming," including the Stanley Cup Playoffs
The Stanley Cup playoffs (french: Les séries éliminatoires de la Coupe Stanley) is an elimination tournament in the National Hockey League (NHL) consisting of four rounds of best-of-seven series to determine the league champion and the winner ...
, IndyCar Series
The IndyCar Series, currently known as the NTT IndyCar Series under sponsorship, is the highest class of regional North American open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars in the United States, which has been conducted under the auspices of ...
, and NASCAR Cup Series
The NASCAR Cup Series is the top racing series of the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR). The series began in 1949 as the Strictly Stock Division, and from 1950 to 1970 it was known as the Grand National Division. In 1971, ...
, before NBCSN's shutdown (NBC lost the rights to the NHL to an ESPN
ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...
/Turner Sports
Warner Bros. Discovery Sports (WBD Sports) is the division of Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) that is responsible for sports broadcasting, sports broadcasts on its parent company's various channels in the United States, including TBS (American TV ch ...
consortium after the 2020–2021 season).
When NBCSN was shuttered, its programming was effectively merged into USA Network's schedule, with some events also moving to CNBC
CNBC (formerly Consumer News and Business Channel) is an American basic cable business news channel. It provides business news programming on weekdays from 5:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., Eastern Time, while broadcasting talk sho ...
on weekends, freeing NBC Sports from the burden of having secondary programming to fill time without any live sporting events. Peacock
Peafowl is a common name for three bird species in the genera ''Pavo (genus), Pavo'' and ''Afropavo'' within the tribe Pavonini of the family Phasianidae, the pheasants and their allies. Male peafowl are referred to as peacocks, and female pea ...
, NBCUniversal's new streaming service, began to broadcast some of the network's former programming such as Notre Dame hockey, and would also simulcast several major sports events held by NBCSN as a transitional move, most notably the opening games of the 2021 Stanley Cup Finals.
The move was cited by industry analysts as a response to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
on the sports
Sport pertains to any form of competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to spectators. Sports can, th ...
and television
Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...
industries, the acceleration of cord-cutting
In broadcast television, cord-cutting refers to the pattern of viewers, referred to as cord-cutters, cancelling their subscriptions to multichannel television services available over cable or satellite, dropping pay television channels or reduc ...
, as well as formidable competition from rival sports networks such as ESPN
ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...
and Fox Sports 1
Fox Sports 1 (FS1) is an American pay television channel owned by the Fox Sports Media Group, a unit of Fox Corporation. FS1 replaced the motorsports network Speed on August 17, 2013, at the same time that its companion channel Fox Sports 2 ...
, noting the company saw an overall revenue drop by 19% to $6.72 billion.
Following a gradual "wind-down" of operations (even further aggravated by NBC's loss of NHL rights), it was further disclosed as to the process of how NBCSN would cease operations on November 2, 2021; specifically, it was revealed on that date that a majority of NBCSN's sports rights, beginning with rights to Premier League
The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...
soccer, would transfer over to USA Network
USA Network (simply USA) is an American basic cable television channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of Comcast's NBCUniversal through NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. It was originally launched in 1977 as Madison ...
, the Olympic Channel
Olympic Channel is an over-the-top Internet television service operated by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). It was launched on August 21, 2016, alongside the closing of the 2016 Summer Olympics. The service aims to maintain year-round ...
and Peacock
Peafowl is a common name for three bird species in the genera ''Pavo (genus), Pavo'' and ''Afropavo'' within the tribe Pavonini of the family Phasianidae, the pheasants and their allies. Male peafowl are referred to as peacocks, and female pea ...
, beginning at 12:00:01 a.m. on January 1, 2022; at that time, the network, after signing off
''Signing Off'' is the debut album by British reggae band UB40, released in the UK on 29 August 1980 by Dudley-based independent label Graduate Records. It was an immediate success in their home country, reaching number 2 on the UK albums chart, ...
, would then carry a looping advisory video advising viewers where their programs could be found until January 10, though the provider could simply take the channel dark immediately after sign-off. NBC also advised viewers during broadcasts of affected games as to their new location, along with making sure electronic program guide
Electronic programming guides (EPGs) and interactive programming guides (IPGs) are menu-based systems that provide users of television, radio and other media applications with continuously updated menus that display scheduling information for ...
listings reflected the channel's closure, and the company's social media was used to advise viewers as well. Mecum Auctions already had a secondary content deal with Motor Trend
''MotorTrend'' is an American automobile magazine. It first appeared in September 1949, and designated the first Car of the Year, also in 1949.
Petersen Publishing Company in Los Angeles, California, Los Angeles published ''MotorTrend'' until 19 ...
and a tertiary deal with RFD TV
RFD-TV is an American pay television channel owned by Rural Media Group, Inc. The channel features programming devoted to rural issues, concerns and interests. The channel's name is a reference to Rural Free Delivery, the name for the United St ...
; Motor Trend became its primary television partner at the start of 2022, though the fate of other surrounding non-NBC programming such as PowerNation programming (which is offered through its owner's own streaming service, Vuit), is unknown.
The final live sports broadcast aired on NBCSN was an exhibition cornhole "Team USA vs. The World" event (both men's and women's) from Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
Myrtle Beach is a resort city on the east coast of the United States in Horry County, South Carolina. It is located in the center of a long and continuous stretch of beach known as "The Grand Strand" in the northeastern part of the state. Its y ...
(during the 2021 US Open Cornhole Championships) on December 31. It led into the final program, a replay of the second day of Mecum's Kansas City
The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more ...
auction event from December 3, and following the program the transition to the advisory loop was done without ceremony. Said loop continued until 2:34 p.m. ET on January 10, when it went dark.
Facilities
As of September 15, 2014, the entirety of NBC Sports' operations, including NBCSN, moved to a new campus in Stamford, Connecticut
Stamford () is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut, outside of Manhattan. It is Connecticut's second-most populous city, behind Bridgeport. With a population of 135,470, Stamford passed Hartford and New Haven in population as of the 2020 ...
.
''Football Night in America
''Football Night in America'' (''FNIA''), branded for sponsorship purposes as ''Football Night in America served by Applebee's'', is an American pre-game show that is broadcast on NBC, preceding its broadcasts of Sunday night and postseason Natio ...
'' remained at NBC Studios in Rockefeller Center until September 7, 2014, when that program also moved to Stamford.
Notable personalities
Announcers, reporters and hosts
* Liam McHugh
Liam McHugh (born ) is an American television sportscaster. He is a studio host for Turner Sports coverage of the NHL. He previously worked on NBC Sports coverage of the NHL as well as Notre Dame Fighting Irish football and '' NBC Sunday N ...
: lead NHL studio host (2011–2021), ''Football Night in America
''Football Night in America'' (''FNIA''), branded for sponsorship purposes as ''Football Night in America served by Applebee's'', is an American pre-game show that is broadcast on NBC, preceding its broadcasts of Sunday night and postseason Natio ...
'' on-site host (2018–2021)
* Bob Costas
Robert Quinlan Costas (born March 22, 1952) is an American sportscaster who is known for his long tenure with NBC Sports, from 1980 through 2019. He has received 28 Emmy awards for his work and was the prime-time host of 12 Olympic Games from 19 ...
: host (2006–2019)
* Rebecca Lowe
Rebecca, ; Syriac: , ) from the Hebrew (lit., 'connection'), from Semitic root , 'to tie, couple or join', 'to secure', or 'to snare') () appears in the Hebrew Bible as the wife of Isaac and the mother of Jacob and Esau. According to biblical ...
: studio host for Premier League coverage, other studio host (2013–2021)
* Kathryn Tappen
Kathryn Tappen (born April 9, 1981) is an American sportscaster. Tappen works on NBC Sports Group's coverage of the Notre Dame Football, '' Football Night in America'', Golf, as well as the Summer and Winter Olympic Games among others.
Early li ...
: host (2014–2021)
* Mike Tirico: ''NBC Sunday Night Football
''NBC Sunday Night Football'' (abbreviated as ''SNF'') is an American weekly television broadcast of National Football League (NFL) games on NBC and Peacock in the United States. It began airing on August 6, 2006, with the Pro Football Hall of Fa ...
''/''Football Night in America
''Football Night in America'' (''FNIA''), branded for sponsorship purposes as ''Football Night in America served by Applebee's'', is an American pre-game show that is broadcast on NBC, preceding its broadcasts of Sunday night and postseason Natio ...
'' host (2016–2021)
Hockey
* Mike Emrick: lead play-by-play (2006–2020)
* Dave Strader
David Strader (February 24, 1955 – October 1, 2017) was an American sportscaster, primarily known for his play-by-play commentary of ice hockey. During his career, he worked on telecasts for the Detroit Red Wings, Florida Panthers, Phoenix ...
: play-by-play (2006–2009, 2011–2015)
* Kenny Albert
Kenneth Gary Albert (born February 2, 1968) is an American sportscaster, the son of NBA sportscaster Marv Albert and nephew of sportscasters Al Albert and Steve Albert. He is the only sportscaster who currently does play-by-play for all four ma ...
: play-by-play (2006, 2010, 2011–2015); #2 play-by-play (2015–2020); lead play-by-play (2021)
* Chris Cuthbert
Chris Cuthbert (born September 20, 1957) is a Canadian sportscaster. He is the lead play-by-play commentator for ''NHL on Sportsnet'' and ''Hockey Night in Canada'', since 2021. Formerly, he worked for TSN, NBC, and CBC Sports in a multitude of ...
: play-by-play (2006–2007, 2014–2020)
* Gord Miller: play-by-play (2013–2021)
* John Forslund
John Forslund is an American sports announcer who is the television play-by-play announcer of the Seattle Kraken. He had previously filled the same role for the Carolina Hurricanes and was with the team since 1991 (when the team was the Hartford W ...
: play-by-play (2011–2020); #2 play-by-play (2021)
* Brendan Burke
Brendan Gilmore Burke (December 8, 1988 – February 5, 2010) was an athlete and student manager at Miami University for the RedHawks men's ice hockey team. The youngest son of Brian Burke, former general manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs, lo ...
: play-by-play (2017–2021)
* Randy Hahn
Randy Hahn (born October 21, 1958) is a play-by-play commentator for the San Jose Sharks on NBC Sports California, and has held that position for over 30 seasons. He has over 40 years of broadcast experience, mostly in hockey. He broadcast his 2,00 ...
: play-by-play (2014–2021)
* Rick Peckham
Rick Peckham (born March 1955) is the retired play-by-play broadcaster for the NHL's Tampa Bay Lightning hockey team. Previously, Peckham had served as the play-by-play announcer for the Hartford Whalers from 1984 through 1995. He has also bro ...
: play-by-play (2011–2020)
* Alex Faust
Alex Faust (born January 14, 1989) is an American television sportscaster who is currently the television play-by-play voice for the Los Angeles Kings of the National Hockey League (NHL). He gained additional fame in 2018 when ''Jeopardy!'' hos ...
: play-by-play (2018–2021)
* Eddie Olczyk
Edward Walter Olczyk Jr. (; born August 16, 1966) is a former center in the National Hockey League for 16 seasons with the Chicago Blackhawks, Toronto Maple Leafs, Winnipeg Jets, New York Rangers, Los Angeles Kings, and Pittsburgh Penguins. He ...
: studio analyst (2006), lead color commentator (2007–2021)
* Pierre McGuire
Regis Pierre McGuire (born August 8, 1961) is an American-Canadian ice hockey executive who last served as senior vice-president of player development for the Ottawa Senators of the National Hockey League (NHL). He previously worked as a televis ...
: lead "Inside the Glass" reporter (2006–2021)
* Brian Engblom
Brian Paul Engblom (born January 27, 1955) is a Canadian ice hockey broadcaster for the Tampa Bay Lightning, and a former professional hockey defenseman.
Biography
Engblom was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, and played for the University of Wiscons ...
: lead studio analyst (2005–2011); booth color commentator/"Inside the Glass" reporter (2011–2015)
* Darren Pang
Darren Robert Pang (born February 17, 1964) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender. He played his professional career with the Chicago Blackhawks of the National Hockey League (1984–85 and 1987–89).
He is currently the lead c ...
: "Inside the Glass" reporter (2007–2021)
* Joe Micheletti
Joseph Robert Micheletti (born October 24, 1954) is an American ice hockey analyst and reporter, and a former defenseman who played in 142 World Hockey Association (WHA) games with the Calgary Cowboys and Edmonton Oilers between 1977 and 1979, an ...
: "Inside the Glass" reporter/booth color commentator (2006–2007, 2011–2021)
* A. J. Mleczko: color commentator (2018–2021)
* Ray Ferraro
Raymond Vincent Ferraro (born August 23, 1964) is a Canadians, Canadian former professional ice hockey player and currently sports commentator, broadcaster for NHL on ESPN, ESPN/NHL on ABC, ABC and formerly of TSN Hockey, TSN. He played for 21 se ...
: "Inside the Glass" reporter (2015–2021)
* Brian Boucher
Brian Boucher ( ; born January 2, 1977) is an American former professional ice hockey goaltender who is a game and studio analyst on national ESPN and ABC games and also Philadelphia Flyers games on NBC Sports Philadelphia. He played 13 seasons ...
: "Inside the Glass" reporter/studio analyst (2015–2019); lead "Inside the Glass" reporter (2019–2021)
* Jamie Baker: color commentator (2014–2021)
* Bret Hedican
Bret Michael Hedican (born August 10, 1970) is an American former professional ice hockey player, a Stanley Cup champion, and a two-time US Olympian. A product of St. Cloud State University, Hedican played with the 1992 US Olympic Team before he ...
: "Inside the Glass" reporter (2014–2021)
* Daryl Reaugh
Daryl Kevin "Razor" Reaugh (pronounced "Ray") (born February 13, 1965) is a retired professional ice hockey goaltender and now a broadcaster for the Dallas Stars of the National Hockey League (NHL), ''NHL on NBC'' and ''Hockey Night in Canada''. H ...
: "Inside the Glass" analyst (2012–2021)
* Jim Fox: color commentator (2014–2021)
* Brian Hayward
Brian George Hayward (born June 25, 1960) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender who currently serves as a color analyst for Anaheim Ducks broadcasts on Prime Ticket/Fox Sports West and KDOC.
Playing career
Hayward played coll ...
: color commentator (2014–2021)
* Liam McHugh
Liam McHugh (born ) is an American television sportscaster. He is a studio host for Turner Sports coverage of the NHL. He previously worked on NBC Sports coverage of the NHL as well as Notre Dame Fighting Irish football and '' NBC Sunday N ...
: lead studio host (2014–2021)
* Mike Milbury
Mike may refer to:
Animals
* Mike (cat), cat and guardian of the British Museum
* Mike the Headless Chicken, chicken that lived for 18 months after his head had been cut off
* Mike (chimpanzee), a chimpanzee featured in several books and document ...
: lead studio analyst (2008–2020), substitute lead color commentator (2017–2020)
* Keith Jones: lead studio analyst (2005–2021)
* Kathryn Tappen
Kathryn Tappen (born April 9, 1981) is an American sportscaster. Tappen works on NBC Sports Group's coverage of the Notre Dame Football, '' Football Night in America'', Golf, as well as the Summer and Winter Olympic Games among others.
Early li ...
: alternate studio host (2014–2021)
* Jeremy Roenick
Jeremy Shaffer Roenick
( ; born January 17, 1970) is an American former professional ice hockey player who played the majority of his career in the National Hockey League (NHL). He was drafted 8th overall in the 1988 NHL Entry Draft by the Chica ...
: studio analyst (2010, 2014–2019); NHL outdoor games
The National Hockey League (NHL) first held a regular season outdoor ice hockey game in 2003, and since 2008 the league has scheduled at least one per year.
The NHL primarily uses three brands for outdoor games: the Heritage Classic, Winter C ...
reporter (2014–2019)
* Anson Carter
Anson Horace Carter (born June 6, 1974) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey right winger who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for eight teams, most notably with the Boston Bruins, Edmonton Oilers and Vancouver Canucks. He was la ...
: studio analyst (2012–2021), "Inside the Glass" reporter (2014)
Motorsports
* Rick Allen: lead NASCAR lap-by-lap (2015–2021), studio host (2014–2021), reserve IndyCar lap-by-lap announcer (2016–2017), reserve IMSA
The International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) is a North American sports car racing sanctioning body based in Daytona Beach, Florida under the jurisdiction of the ACCUS arm of the FIA. It was started by John Bishop, a former executive direc ...
lap-by-lap announcer (2019–2021)
* Jon Beekhuis
Jon Beekhuis (; born March 31, 1960) is an American former race car driver. Beekhuis was born in Zurich, Switzerland while his American father was studying at ETH Zurich, and grew up in California. The 1988 ARS (Indy Lights) champion, Beekhuis d ...
: pit reporter (2013–2021), color commentator (2009–2012)
* Townsend Bell
Townsend Bell (born April 19, 1975) is an American professional motor racing driver competing in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, and also as a motorsports commentator for NBC Sports’ IndyCar Series coverage.
Early career
He spent ...
: color commentator (2013–2021), pit reporter (2012)
* Dave Burns: pit reporter (2015–2021), lead lap-by-lap (2015–2021)
* Jeff Burton
Jeffrey Tyler Burton (born June 29, 1967), nicknamed The Mayor, is an American former professional stock car racing driver and current racing commentator. He scored 21 career victories in the NASCAR Cup Series, including two Coca-Cola 600s in ...
: color commentator (2015–2021), studio host (2014–2021)
* Jac Collinsworth
Jac Collinsworth (born February 13, 1995) is an American sportscaster working for NBC Sports since 2020. He also worked for ESPN on their '' NFL Live'' and '' Sunday NFL Countdown''. At NBC, Collinsworth serves as a play-by-play announcer for t ...
: Host/Features Reporter (2021)
* Leigh Diffey
Leigh Diffey (born 3 March 1971) is an Australian American auto racing commentator. His career began calling motorcycle races in his home country before moving to the United Kingdom to cover other forms of motorsport. Diffey then moved to the ...
: lead IndyCar lap-by-lap announcer (2013–2021), reserve NASCAR lap-by-lap announcer (2015–2021), lead IMSA lap-by-lap announcer (2019–2021)
* Kevin Lee: pit reporter (2010–2021), reserve Indycar lead lap-by-lap (2014–2021), reserve IMSA
The International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) is a North American sports car racing sanctioning body based in Daytona Beach, Florida under the jurisdiction of the ACCUS arm of the FIA. It was started by John Bishop, a former executive direc ...
lap-by-lap announcer (2019–2021)
* Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Ralph Dale Earnhardt Jr. (born October 10, 1974) is an American semi-retired professional stock car racing driver, team owner, author, and an analyst for ''NASCAR on NBC''. He currently competes part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving t ...
: NASCAR analyst (2018–2021)
* Ray Evernham
Raymond Donald Evernham Jr. (born August 26, 1957) is an American consultant for Hendrick Companies, formerly an auto racing crew chief for Bill Davis Racing and Hendrick Motorsports, owner of his own team Evernham Motorsports from 2001 to 2 ...
: color commentator (2015–2021 – Whelen Modified Tour
The NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour (NWMT) (previously the NASCAR Winston Modified Tour and NASCAR Featherlite Modified Series from 1985 until 2005) is a modified stock car racing series owned and operated by NASCAR in the Modified Division. The Mod ...
)
* Dale Jarrett
Dale Arnold Jarrett (born November 26, 1956) is a former American race car driver and current commentator for NBC. He is best known for winning the Daytona 500 three times (in 1993, 1996, and 2000) and winning the NASCAR Winston Cup Series champi ...
: studio analyst (2015–2021)
* Parker Kligerman: studio analyst (2014–2021), color commentator (2015 – NASCAR
The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and hi ...
K&N Pro Series), pit reporter (2016–2021)
* Kelli Stavast
Kelli L. Stavast is an American sportscaster who works for NBC Sports as a pit reporter for both their NASCAR (in both the Cup and Xfinity Series) and IndyCar Series coverage. She has reported for numerous other forms of motorsports throughout he ...
: pit reporter (2015–2021)
* Katie Hargitt: pit reporter (2015–2021)
* Anders Krohn
Anders Krohn (born 15 November 1987) is a Norwegian racing driver from Stavanger.
Racing career
After a youth in karting, Krohn moved to cars in the Swedish Junior Touring Car Championship in 2006. In 2007 he primarily raced in Benelux Formula ...
: color commentator (2014–2021 – Indy Lights
Indy NXT, previously Indy Lights, is an American developmental automobile racing series sanctioned by IndyCar, currently known as Firestone Indy NXT Series for sponsorship reasons. Indy Lights is the highest step on the Road to Indy, a program ...
), pit reporter (2017–2021)
* Steve Letarte
Steven Letarte (born May 14, 1979) is an American professional NASCAR crew chief and sportscaster who works for NBC Sports as a color commentator on NASCAR on NBC, their telecasts for NASCAR. He also works as a consultant for Spire Motorsports, ...
: color commentator (2015–2021)
* Robin Miller: pit reporter (2011–2021)
* Kyle Petty
Kyle Eugene Petty (born June 2, 1960) is an American former stock car racing driver, and current racing commentator. He is the son of racer Richard Petty, grandson of racer Lee Petty, and father of racer Adam Petty, who was killed in a crash dur ...
: studio analyst (2014–2021)
* Ralph Sheheen
Ralph Sheheen (born August 23, 1964) is an American sports announcer. He is one of the lead broadcasters of NASCAR Xfinity Series on NBCSN, and was the lead commentator of Feld Entertainment's AMA Supercross Championship from 2006 until 2020. He ...
: lead lap-by-lap (2015–2021), pit reporter (2016)
* Jason Weigandt: lead lap-by-lap (2012–2021)
* Frank Stoddard
Francis Allen Stoddard (born April 20, 1968) is a NASCAR crew chief and owner from Haverhill, New Hampshire. He is the founder of Go Fas Racing, a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series team. He began his career with Dana Patten in the Busch Series. Later, ...
: studio analyst (2014–2021), color commentator (2015 – NASCAR
The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and hi ...
K&N Pro Series)
* Brian Till
Brian Till (born March 26, 1960 in Houston, Texas), is a racecar driver who formerly competed in the CART Championship Car series. He raced in the 1992–1995 seasons with 20 career starts.
Racing career
Till had success early being named Rooki ...
: reserve IndyCar lap-by-lap (2012–2016), reserve IMSA
The International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) is a North American sports car racing sanctioning body based in Daytona Beach, Florida under the jurisdiction of the ACCUS arm of the FIA. It was started by John Bishop, a former executive direc ...
lap-by-lap (2019–2021)
* Calvin Fish
Calvin Fish (born 22 July 1961 in Norwich) is a British television commentator for NBC Sports and a former racing driver.
Fish began his career in karts at 13. He then moved to Formula Ford in 1979 at age 18 and then British Formula Three. He ...
: color commentator (2019–2021)
* A. J. Allmendinger
Anthony James "A. J." Allmendinger (born December 16, 1981) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 16 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Kaulig Racing.
Allmendinger's professi ...
: color commentator (2019–2021), studio analyst (2019–2021)
* Paul Tracy
Paul Anthony Tracy (born December 17, 1968) is a Canadian-American former professional auto racing driver who competed in CART, the Champ Car World Series and the IndyCar Series. He is known by the nicknames "PT" and "the Thrill from West Hill" ...
: color commentator (2014–2021)
* Ricky Carmichael: color commentator (2019–2021)
* Daniel Blair: reporter (2019–2021)
* Grant Langston: color commentator (2012–2021)
* Bob Varsha
Robert August "Bob" Varsha (born April 21, 1951) is an American broadcast journalist who specializes in covering motorsports. He is best known for being the lap-by-lap commentator for Formula 1 and CART series races for ESPN, ABC Sports, and Spee ...
: reserve lap-by-lap (2013–2014)
* Brian Vickers
Brian Lee Vickers (born October 24, 1983) is an American professional stock car and sports car racing driver. He last drove the No. 14 Chevrolet SS for Stewart-Haas Racing as an interim driver in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series for the injured ...
: studio analyst (2015–2021)
* Krista Voda
Krista Voda Kelley (born May 31, 1974) is an American sportscaster who covers auto racing as the play-by-play announcer for the ARCA Menards Series on MAVTV. She previously worked for ''NASCAR on Fox'' and '' NASCAR on Speed'' from 2003 to 2014 ...
: studio host (2015–2020)
* Dillon Welch: pit reporter (2018–2021)
* Rutledge Wood
Rutledge Wood (born April 22, 1980 in Birmingham, Alabama) is an auto racing analyst and TV show host. Wood was one of three hosts for History's ''Top Gear'' along with Adam Ferrara and Tanner Foust, which premiered on November 21, 2010. Unti ...
: Features reporter (2014–2021)
* Brad Daugherty Brad Daugherty may refer to:
* Brad Daugherty (basketball) (born 1965), American NBA player, currently a television sportscaster
* Brad Daugherty (poker player) (born 1951), American poker player
{{Hndis, Daugherty, Brad ...
: studio analyst (2020–2021)
* James Hinchcliffe
James Douglas Meredith Hinchcliffe (born December 5, 1986) is a Canadian race car driver and commentator best known for competing in the IndyCar Series. Hinchcliffe won six races for Andretti Autosport and Schmidt Peterson Motorsports. In 2015, ...
: color analyst (2020–2021)
Soccer
* Arlo White
Arlo James White (born 2 June 1973) is an English sports presenter and commentator, originally from Leicester. He is the play-by-play commentator for Chicago Fire of Major League Soccer, and for the LIV Golf league. White previously worked for ...
: lead Play-by-play announcer
In sports broadcasting, a sports commentator (also known as sports announcer or sportscaster) provides a real-time commentary of a game or event, usually during a live broadcast, traditionally delivered in the historical present tense. Radio wa ...
/alternate studio host (2013–present)
* Lee Dixon
Lee Michael Dixon (born 17 March 1964) is an English retired professional footballer and pundit who played as a right-back for Arsenal. Dixon was also capped 22 times for England.
A childhood Manchester City fan, Dixon began his footballing ...
: lead color commentator (2013–present)
* Graeme Le Saux
Graeme Pierre Le Saux ( ; born 17 October 1968) is an English former professional footballer and television pundit.
As a versatile left sided player he played most of his career at left back with two spells at Chelsea, Blackburn Rovers, Southamp ...
: lead color commentator (2013–present)
* Tim Howard: alternate commentator (2013–2016); studio analyst (2020–present)
* Geoff Cameron: analyst (2014–present)
* Steve Bower
Stephen Robert Bower is an English football commentator, one of the main voices for BBC TV's Match of the Day, culminating in being part of the commentary teams for the 2010, 2014, and 2018 FIFA World Cups. Bower commentated on New Zealand's ...
: contributor/play-by-play/alternate studio host (2013–2021)
* Robbie Earle
Robert Fitzgerald Earle MBE (born 27 January 1965) is an English-born Jamaican former international footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. He played 578 league games in senior club football, scoring 136 goals.
A former youth playe ...
: studio analyst/alternate commentator (2013–present)
* Rebecca Lowe
Rebecca, ; Syriac: , ) from the Hebrew (lit., 'connection'), from Semitic root , 'to tie, couple or join', 'to secure', or 'to snare') () appears in the Hebrew Bible as the wife of Isaac and the mother of Jacob and Esau. According to biblical ...
: lead studio host (2013–present)
* Robbie Mustoe
Robin "Robbie" Mustoe (born 28 August 1968) is an English retired footballer who now works as a commentator for NBC Sports. He made nearly 500 appearances in the Football League and Premier League, playing as a defensive midfielder for Oxford U ...
: studio analyst (2013–present)
* Kyle Martino: studio analyst (2013–2017; 2018–2020)
* Roger Bennett: contributor (2014–present)
* Michael Davies: contributor (2014–2021)
Mixed martial arts
* Bas Rutten
Sebastiaan "Bas" Rutten (; born 24 February 1965) is a Dutch-American actor, former mixed martial artist, kickboxer and professional wrestler. He was a UFC Heavyweight Champion, a three-time King of Pancrase world champion, and finished his car ...
: lead commentator (2012–2021)
* Todd Harris
Todd Harris (born June 4, 1970) is an American sports announcer and reporter for NBC Sports and NBCSN, with current duties focused in Olympic and extreme sports. A graduate of Brigham Young University with a bachelor's degree in communications ...
: co-commentator (2012–2021)
* Sean O'Connell
Sean O'Connell was a Gaelic football manager and player who featured for the Derry county team in the late 1950s, 1960s and 1970s and was on the Derry side that finished runners-up to Dublin in the 1958 All-Ireland Championship – winning a ...
: co-commentator (2018–2021)
* Brian Stann
Brian Michael Stann (born September 24, 1980) is an American former mixed martial artist and U.S. Marine who competed as a Middleweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). He is a former WEC Light Heavyweight Champion. He was also a col ...
: studio analyst (2018–2021)
* Yves Edwards
Yves Ed'duvill Edwards (born September 30, 1976) is a Bahamian retired mixed martial artist, who is best known for competing in the UFC's Lightweight division, fighting 21 times in the promotion. A professional competitor since 1997, he also compe ...
: studio analyst (2018–2021)
* Randy Couture
Randall Duane Couture (; born June 22, 1963) is an American actor, former United States Army, U.S. Army sergeant, former mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist and former Collegiate wrestling, collegiate and Greco-Roman wrestling, Greco-Roman ...
: studio analyst (2014–2021)
* Caroline Pearce: reporter (2018–2021)
* Kenny Rice
Kenny Rice (born July 28, 1956) is an American sportscaster known nationally for his horse racing reporting with NBC and MMA coverage for HDNet.
Biography
Kenny Rice was born July 28, 1956 in McDowell, Floyd County, Kentucky. He grew up in the t ...
: co-commentator (2013–2021)
* Chael Sonnen
Chael Patrick Sonnen (; born April 3, 1977) is an American submission grappling promoter, mixed martial arts (MMA) analyst, and retired mixed martial artist. Beginning his MMA career in 1997, Sonnen competed for the Ultimate Fighting Champion ...
: lead commentator (2015–2016)
* Renzo Gracie: co-commentator (2016–2021)
Programming
Event coverage
Olympics
* ''Olympics on NBC
The broadcasts of ''Summer'' and ''Winter Olympic Games'' produced by ''NBC Sports'' are shown on the various platforms of NBCUniversal in the United States, including the NBC broadcast network, NBC Sports app, NBCOlympics.com, Peacock, Spanish l ...
'': Summer
Summer is the hottest of the four temperate seasons, occurring after spring and before autumn. At or centred on the summer solstice, the earliest sunrise and latest sunset occurs, daylight hours are longest and dark hours are shortest, wit ...
and Winter Games
''Winter Games'' is a sports video game developed by Epyx (and released in Europe by U.S. Gold), based on sports featured in the Winter Olympic Games.
A snow-and-ice themed follow-up to the highly successful '' Summer Games'', ''Winter Games'' ...
(2012–2021)
* Youth Olympic Games
The Youth Olympic Games (YOG) is an international multi-sport event for athletes between 15 and 18 years old, organized by the International Olympic Committee. The games are held every four years in staggered summer and winter events consiste ...
(2014–2020)
* Paralympic Games
The Paralympic Games or Paralympics, also known as the ''Games of the Paralympiad'', is a periodic series of international multisport events involving athletes with a range of physical disabilities, including impaired muscle power and impaire ...
(2014–2021)
Motor sports
* ''NASCAR on NBC
''NASCAR on NBC'' (visually branded as ''NBC NASCAR'' in logos shown within on-air graphics and network promotions) is the branding used for broadcasts of NASCAR races that are produced by NBC Sports, and televised on several NBCUniversal-owned ...
'' (1999–2006, 2015–2021)
** NASCAR Cup Series
The NASCAR Cup Series is the top racing series of the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR). The series began in 1949 as the Strictly Stock Division, and from 1950 to 1970 it was known as the Grand National Division. In 1971, ...
(2015–2021), (12 races, practice & qualifying sessions)
** NASCAR Xfinity Series
The NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) is a stock car racing series organized by NASCAR. It is promoted as NASCAR's second-tier circuit to the organization's top level Cup Series. NXS events are frequently held as a support race on the day prior to a ...
(2015–2021), (15 races, practice & qualifying sessions)
** ARCA Menards Series East/ARCA Menards Series West
The ARCA Menards Series West, formerly the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West, NASCAR AutoZone West Series, NASCAR Winston West Series and NASCAR Camping World West Series, is a regional stock car racing series owned and operated by the Automobile Raci ...
(2015–2021)
** NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour
The NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour (NWMT) (previously the NASCAR Winston Modified Tour and NASCAR Featherlite Modified Series from 1985 until 2005) is a modified stock car racing series owned and operated by NASCAR in the Modified Division. The Mod ...
/NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour
The NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour (WSMT) was a stock car racing series owned by NASCAR and operated in the Southeastern United States as part of its Modified Division. The series began in 1989 as the Southern Modified Auto Racing Teams (S. ...
(2015–2021)
** NASCAR PEAK Mexico Series
The NASCAR Mexico Series (formerly NASCAR Corona Series and other names) is a NASCAR series in Mexico. It is the most prestigious stock car racing series in the country.
Origins (Desafío Corona)
The Desafío Corona was established in 2004 by ...
(2015)
** Denny Hamlin Short Track Showdown (2015)
* ''IndyCar Series on NBC
''IndyCar Series on NBC'' is the blanket title used for telecasts of IndyCar Series racing produced by NBC Sports.
NBC Sports' current involvement with the IndyCar Series dates back to the 2009 season, when Comcast-owned sports network Versus ac ...
'' (2009–2021)
** Eight-races televised by NBC include Indianapolis 500
The Indianapolis 500, formally known as the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, and commonly called the Indy 500, is an annual automobile race held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of Indi ...
** Indy Lights
Indy NXT, previously Indy Lights, is an American developmental automobile racing series sanctioned by IndyCar, currently known as Firestone Indy NXT Series for sponsorship reasons. Indy Lights is the highest step on the Road to Indy, a program ...
live coverage shown on NBC Sports Gold
NBC Sports Gold was a suite of over-the-top subscription streaming television services operated by NBC Sports Group; the individual services (referred to as "passes") featured coverage of sports properties from NBC Sports, often as companions and ...
and Tape-Delayed on NBCSN
** Road to Indy
A road is a linear way for the conveyance of traffic that mostly has an improved surface for use by vehicles (motorized and non-motorized) and pedestrians. Unlike streets, the main function of roads is transportation.
There are many types of ...
highlights package for Indy Pro 2000 Championship
The USF Pro 2000 Championship Presented by Cooper Tires, formerly known as the Star Mazda Championship, Pro Mazda Championship, and later Indy Pro 2000 Championship, is an open-wheel racing series serving as the third step on the Road to Indy l ...
& USF2000
The USF2000 Championship Presented by Cooper Tires is an American racing series using the American variation of the Formula Ford formula, "F2000", that resumed operation for the 2010 season. As of 2022, it is sanctioned by the United States Auto ...
* Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross (2012–2021) (Moto2 450 & 250 races shared with NBC, also streamed on Live Extra)
* AMA Supercross Championship
The AMA Supercross Championship (commercially known as Monster Energy AMA Supercross) is an American motorcycle racing series. Founded by the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) in 1974, the AMA Supercross Championship races are held from J ...
(2019–2021)
** 3 Races to be exclusively on NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...
** Free Practice, Qualifying & All Races Live & On-Demand by NBC Sports Gold
NBC Sports Gold was a suite of over-the-top subscription streaming television services operated by NBC Sports Group; the individual services (referred to as "passes") featured coverage of sports properties from NBC Sports, often as companions and ...
Supercross Pass
* Monster Jam
Monster Jam is a live motorsport event tour operated by Feld Entertainment. The series began in 1992, and is sanctioned under the umbrella of the United States Hot Rod Association. Events are primarily held in North America, with some additional ...
(2019–2021)
** 26 episodes per season
* Formula One
Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...
(2013–2017)
* FIA Formula 2 Championship
The FIA Formula 2 Championship is a second-tier single-seater championship organised by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). Held on racing circuits, the championship was introduced in 2017, following the rebranding of the lo ...
(2013–2017, tape delayed)
* Red Bull Global Rallycross (2014–2017)
** GRC Lites races (2015–2017)
** re-airings of all Supercar races (2014–2017)
* Speed Energy Formula Off-Road
The Stadium Super Trucks (SST), formerly known as Speed Energy Formula Off-Road, is an American short course off-road racing series created by off-road racer and former IndyCar and NASCAR driver Robby Gordon in 2013. Sanctioned by the United State ...
(2013–2014, tape delayed)
* TORC: The Off Road Championship (2014, tape delayed)
* ARCA Racing Series
The ARCA Menards Series is an American stock car series, the premier division of the Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA). It is considered a minor, semi-professional league of stock car racing, used as a feeder series into the three national ...
(2013, tape delayed)
* International Motor Sports Association
The International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) is a North American sports car racing sanctioning body based in Daytona Beach, Florida under the jurisdiction of the ACCUS arm of the FIA. It was started by John Bishop, a former executive direc ...
(2019–2021)
** 11 Races to be broadcast on NBCSN including the Rolex 24 at Daytona
The 24 Hours of Daytona, also known as the Rolex 24 At Daytona for sponsorship reasons, is a 24-hour sports car endurance race held annually at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. It is run on the Sports Car Course layout ...
** Including double-header series on same tracks alongside IndyCar
INDYCAR, LLC, is an American-based auto racing sanctioning body for Indy car racing and other disciplines of open wheel car racing. The organization sanctions five racing series: the premier IndyCar Series with its centerpiece the Indianapolis ...
* MotoGP World Championship (2020–2021)
** Include Moto2 and Moto3 Races
* Superbike World Championship
Superbike World Championship (also known as WorldSBK, SBK, World Superbike, WSB, or WSBK) is a silhouette-class road racing series based on heavily modified production motorcycles, also known as superbike racing.
The championship was founded i ...
(2020–2021)
** Include WorldSSP and WorldSSP300 Races
Soccer
* ''Premier League on NBC
The ''Premier League on NBC/Peacock'' is the blanket title for broadcasts of the Premier League by Peacock and the linear networks of NBC Sports. NBC acquired rights to the Premier League in 2013, and reached a six-year extension in 2015. In 202 ...
SN'' (2013–2021)
* FIFA World Cup
The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament ha ...
and FIFA Women's World Cup
The FIFA Women's World Cup is an international association football competition contested by the senior women's national teams of the members of Fédération Internationale de Football Association ( FIFA), the sport's international governing bo ...
(selected games in Spanish, simulcast from Telemundo
Telemundo (; formerly NetSpan) is an American Spanish-language Terrestrial television, terrestrial television network owned by NBCUniversal Television and Streaming#NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises, NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises, a divi ...
or Universo
Universo is a Legion of Super-Heroes supervillain in the 30th and 31st centuries of the DC Comics universe. He was created by Jim Shooter and Curt Swan, and first appeared in ''Adventure Comics'' #349 (October 1966).
Pre-Zero Hour
Universo first ...
) (2018–2019)
* FA Women's Super League
The Women's Super League (WSL), currently known as the Barclays Women's Super League (BWSL) for sponsorship reasons, is the highest league of women's football in England. Established in 2010, it is run by the Football Association and features t ...
Hockey
* ''NHL on NBC
The ''NHL on NBC'' is an American presentation of National Hockey League (NHL) games produced by NBC Sports, and televised on NBC properties, including MSNBC, CNBC, Golf Channel, USA Network and NBCSN in the United States.
While NBC covered t ...
'' (2005–2021)
** Weekly games
** NHL All-Star Game
The National Hockey League All-Star Game (french: Match des Étoiles de la Ligue Nationale de Hockey, links=no) is an exhibition ice hockey game that is traditionally held during the regular season of the National Hockey League (NHL), with many o ...
** Stanley Cup Playoffs
The Stanley Cup playoffs (french: Les séries éliminatoires de la Coupe Stanley) is an elimination tournament in the National Hockey League (NHL) consisting of four rounds of best-of-seven series to determine the league champion and the winner ...
** Stanley Cup Finals
The Stanley Cup Finals in ice hockey (also known as the Stanley Cup Final among various media, french: Finale de la Coupe Stanley) is the National Hockey League's (NHL) championship series to determine the winner of the Stanley Cup, North America ...
** NHL Entry Draft
The NHL Entry Draft (french: Repêchage d'entrée dans la LNH) is an annual meeting in which every franchise of the National Hockey League (NHL) systematically select the rights to available ice hockey players who meet draft eligibility requirem ...
Rugby union
* Rugby World Cup
The Rugby World Cup is a men's rugby union tournament contested every four years between the top international teams. The tournament is administered by World Rugby, the sport's international governing body. The winners are awarded the Webb E ...
(2011–2019)
* USA Sevens
The USA Sevens is a rugby sevens tournament held annually during March in the United States. The USA Sevens is the largest annual rugby competition in North America, drawing over 60,000 fans, and is broadcast live in the United States by ESPN. ...
(2012–2020)
* English Premiership
The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...
(2016–2021)
* Six Nations Championship
The Six Nations Championship (known as the Guinness Six Nations for sponsorship reasons) is an annual international men's rugby union competition between the teams of England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales. The current champions ar ...
(2018–2021)
* Super Rugby
Super Rugby is a men's professional rugby union club competition involving teams from Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands. It previously included teams from Argentina, Japan, and South Africa. Building on various Southern Hem ...
(2019–2020)
College sports
* ''College Football on NBCSN
''College Football on NBC Sports'' is the ''de facto'' title used for broadcasts of NCAA college football games produced by NBC Sports.
Via its experimental station W2XBS, NBC presented the first television broadcast of American football at a ...
'' (2006–2021)
** Bayou Classic (Southern-Grambling State) (2015–2021)
* ''College Basketball on NBC
''College Basketball on NBC Sports'' is the de facto branding used for broadcasts of NCAA Division I men's college basketball games produced by NBC Sports, the sports division of the NBC television network in the United States. The NBC network b ...
SN'' (2007–2021)
** Atlantic 10
The Atlantic 10 Conference (A-10) is a collegiate athletic conference whose schools compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's (NCAA) Division I. The A-10's member schools are located in states mostly on the United States Eastern ...
men's and women's regular season contests
** Atlantic 10 men's tournament, second round and quarterfinals
* ''Notre Dame Hockey on NBCSN'' (2012–2021)
* ''Notre Dame Football on NBC
''Notre Dame Football on NBC'' is an American presentation of college football games involving the Notre Dame Fighting Irish that are produced by NBC Sports, the sports division of the NBC television network in the United States. NBC Sports ha ...
'' (2011–2021)
** Pre-game show
** Notre Dame spring game (Blue-Gold game)
Other sports
* KFC Big Bash League Cricket (2016–2018)
* Suncorp Super Netball
Suncorp Super Netball is the top level netball league featuring teams from Australia. In 2017 it replaced the ANZ Championship, which also included teams from New Zealand, as the top level netball league in Australia. Since 2019, the league has ...
(2019–2021)
* Netball World Cup (2019)
* FINA World Aquatics Championships
The FINA World Championships or World Aquatics Championships are the World Championships for aquatics sports: Swimming (sport), swimming, Diving (sport), diving, high diving, open water swimming, artistic swimming, and water polo. They are run b ...
* World Athletics Championships
The World Athletics Championships (until 2019 known as the World Championships in Athletics) are a biennial athletics competition organized by World Athletics (formerly IAAF, International Association of Athletics Federations). Alongside the Ol ...
* World Chase Tag (2020–2021)
* Tour de France
The Tour de France () is an annual men's multiple-stage bicycle race primarily held in France, while also occasionally passing through nearby countries. Like the other Grand Tours (the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a España), it consists ...
(1999–2021)
* ''Thoroughbred Racing on NBC
''Thoroughbred Racing on NBC'' is the ''de facto'' title for a series of horse races events whose broadcasts are produced by NBC Sports, the sports division of the NBC television network in the United States. Race coverage is currently helmed by ...
'' (2011–2021)
** Triple Crown pre-race coverage
** Undercard races
** Breeders' Cup (All races other than the Breeders' Cup Classic
The Breeders' Cup Classic is a Grade I Weight for Age thoroughbred horse race for 3-year-olds and older run at a distance of on dirt. It is held annually at a different racetrack as part of the Breeders' Cup World Championships in late October o ...
)
* USA Pro Cycling Challenge
The USA Pro Cycling Challenge, also known as USA Pro Challenge, was an annual multi-day professional road bicycle racing stage race that first took place in Colorado in 2011. Originally announced on August 4, 2010 by Colorado Governor Bill Ritt ...
(2011–2015)
* National Pro Grid League
The National Pro Grid League (NPGL) was a professional athletics organization consisting of mixed-gender teams that operated from 2014 through 2016. No NPGL events have occurred since the final matches in 2016. The teams compete in timed events in ...
(2014–2016)
* World Series of Fighting
The Professional Fighters League (PFL) is an American mixed martial arts league founded by Venture capital, venture capitalist Donn Davis in 2017 and launched in 2018, following the acquisition and restructuring of the former World Series of Fight ...
(2012–2016)
* Professional Fighters League
The Professional Fighters League (PFL) is an American mixed martial arts league founded by venture capitalist Donn Davis in 2017 and launched in 2018, following the acquisition and restructuring of the former World Series of Fighting (WSOF) promot ...
(2017–2018)
* Premier Boxing Champions
''Premier Boxing Champions'' (PBC) is an ongoing series of televised boxing events connected to manager Al Haymon.
PBC was initially promoted as an effort to return boxing to mainstream broadcast and cable television, as opposed to premium chann ...
(2015–2016)
* Curling Night in America (2015–2020)
WSOF was formed in 2012, having signed a broadcast deal with the NBC Sports Network. This was the third MMA promotion that NBC Sports has hosted, having broadcast World Extreme Cagefighting
World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) was an American mixed martial arts, mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion founded in 2001. It was purchased by Zuffa, LLC, the parent company of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC ...
and Ultimate Fighting Championship
The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...
events when the channel was formerly known as Versus. NBC Sports had been one of the bidders for the rights to broadcast future UFC events, but lost out to Fox
Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush'').
Twelve sp ...
. However, some journalists regarded WSOF's deal with NBC Sports to be a considerable coup for a debuting promotion, considering NBC Sports' past interest in the UFC. Upon the announcement of the broadcast deal, WSOF President Ray Sefo
Ray Sefo (born 15 February 1971) is a New Zealand fight promoter and retired kickboxer, boxer, and mixed martial artist of Samoan descent. He was the K-1 World Grand Prix 2000 Runner Up, is a six-time Muay Thai World Champion, and was an eigh ...
stated that the promotion wanted to host 8–10 events per year, whilst holding a one-year deal with NBC Sports. However, the next day, an NBC spokesman revealed that the deal only covered WSOF's inaugural event, with the option for more, should NBC hold a positive evaluation. On February 4, 2013, it was reported by several news outlets that NBC Sports signed a 3-year deal with WSOF.
On December 16, 2012, NBC Sports Network, along with CNBC
CNBC (formerly Consumer News and Business Channel) is an American basic cable business news channel. It provides business news programming on weekdays from 5:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., Eastern Time, while broadcasting talk sho ...
, aired a portion of the '' Sunday Night Football'' game between the San Francisco 49ers
The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...
and the New England Patriots
The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...
. This was because the game's coverage on NBC was interrupted by President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
*President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...
's press conference following the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting
The Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting occurred on December 14, 2012, in Newtown, Connecticut, United States, when 20-year-old Adam Lanza shot and killed 26 people. Twenty of the victims were children between six and seven years old, and t ...
. NBCSN will continue to serve as overflow coverage for ''Sunday Night Football'' and other NFL games covered by NBC in the event the ongoing game is interrupted by an NBC News
NBC News is the news division of the American broadcast television network NBC. The division operates under NBCUniversal Television and Streaming, a division of NBCUniversal, which is, in turn, a subsidiary of Comcast. The news division's var ...
special coverage.
On July 23, 2013, NBC announced that coverage
Coverage may refer to:
Filmmaking
* Coverage (lens), the size of the image a lens can produce
* Camera coverage, the amount of footage shot and different camera setups used in filming a scene
* Script coverage, a short summary of a script, wri ...
of NASCAR
The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and hi ...
racing would return to NBC beginning in the 2015 season under a new contract lasting through 2024. The deal includes broadcast rights to the second half of the NASCAR Playoffs
The NASCAR playoffs is a championship playoff system used in NASCAR's three national series. The system was founded as 'The Chase for the Championship' on January 21, 2004, and was used exclusively in the NASCAR Cup Series from 2004 to 2015. Si ...
and Xfinity Series
The NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) is a stock car racing series organized by NASCAR. It is promoted as NASCAR's second-tier circuit to the organization's top level Cup Series. NXS events are frequently held as a support race on the day prior to a ...
seasons; the majority of which will air on NBCSN.
On August 17, 2014, NBCSN aired rain-delayed coverage of the USGA
The United States Golf Association (USGA) is the United States national association of golf courses, clubs and facilities and the governing body of golf for the U.S. and Mexico. Together with The R&A, the USGA produces and interprets the rules ...
's 2014 United States Amateur Challenge, making it the first golf
Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible.
Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping wi ...
event to be televised on the network.
Original programming
Original programs aired by the network include ''NBC SportsTalk
''NBC SportsTalk'' was a daily sports talk show on American television channel NBCSN named after the various talk sites on the NBCSports.com. It was the flagship show for the network.CNBC Sports Biz
NBCSN was an American sports television channel owned by the NBC Sports Group division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It originally launched on July 1, 1995, as the Outdoor Life Network (OLN), which was dedicated to programming prim ...
'', which both debuted in the fall of 2011 (the latter ending when Darren Rovell
Darren Rovell (born June 30, 1978) is a sports business analyst who works for The Action Network. He previously worked for ESPN.
Early life and education
He attended and graduated cum laude from Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, i ...
moved to ESPN
ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...
as their sports business
Sport pertains to any form of competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to spectators. Sports can, t ...
correspondent). Bob Costas
Robert Quinlan Costas (born March 22, 1952) is an American sportscaster who is known for his long tenure with NBC Sports, from 1980 through 2019. He has received 28 Emmy awards for his work and was the prime-time host of 12 Olympic Games from 19 ...
hosts ''Costas Tonight'', which consists of monthly interview episodes, and quarterly town hall
In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or a municipal building (in the Philippines), is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses ...
specials – the first of which aired from Indianapolis
Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...
on February 2, 2012, as part of NBC's overall coverage of Super Bowl XLVI.
The network also added more documentary-style series, including '' 36'', ''Caught Looking'' (a weekly series co-produced with Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...
), and ''Sports Illustrated'', a monthly series produced in conjunction with the magazine of the same name.[
On August 13, 2012, NBCSN premiered a new morning show, '' The 'Lights'', which consists of a 20-minute loop of sports highlights with no on-camera personalities, repeated from 7:00 to 9:00 a.m. ET.]
In 2014, NBCSN premiered a new auto-themed reality series ''Mecum Dealmakers
''Mecum Dealmakers'' is an American reality program airing on NBCSN. The series takes a behind-the-scenes look at Mecum Auctions, America's biggest collectable car auction facility. Each episode features a specific auction, focusing on the unique ...
''. It was renewed for a second season in 2015.
In April 2016, NBCSN acquired rights to air the Dan Patrick Dan Patrick may refer to:
* Dan Patrick (ice hockey) (born 1938), Canadian ice hockey player
* Dan Patrick (politician) (born 1950), Lieutenant Governor of Texas and political and sports radio journalist
* Dan Patrick (sportscaster) (born 1956), Ame ...
-hosted '' Sports Jeopardy!'' The premiere run followed nightly 2016 Summer Olympics
The 2016 Summer Olympics ( pt, Jogos Olímpicos de Verão de 2016), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad ( pt, Jogos da XXXI Olimpíada) and also known as Rio 2016, was an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 20 ...
coverage, and joined NBCSN's Wednesday night schedule later in October.
In February 2019, it was announced that ''The Dan Patrick Show'' would be dropped and replaced by an encore of ''PFT Live'' and an hour-long simulcast block of British sister channel Sky Sports News
Sky Sports News (SSN) is a British pay television, paid television sports news channel run by Sky Limited, Sky, a division of Comcast.
History
Since 1992, Sky Sports had broadcast sports news, initially a brief ''Football Update'' and lat ...
. In April 2020, it was announced that the latter would be replaced by the new NFL studio show ''NBC Sports Football Flex'' on April 13.
Past carriage disputes
At the beginning of September 2009, DirecTV
DirecTV (trademarked as DIRECTV) is an American multichannel video programming distributor based in El Segundo, California. Originally launched on June 17, 1994, its primary service is a digital satellite service serving the United States. It ...
pulled Versus from its lineup, as it was unable to reach terms on a rate increase demanded by Comcast. In public statements (including a message shown on the channel which formerly carried Versus), DirecTV scolded Comcast for its "unfair and outrageous demands", and considered the company to be "simply piggish" in its demands for higher rates, as it derisively pronounced Versus as "a paid programming and infomercial channel with occasional sporting events." On March 15, 2010, an agreement was reached between the two sides and Versus returned to DirecTV's lineup. The channel was returned to its original package on the service, Choice Xtra.[DIRECTV and VERSUS Reach Carriage Agreement; Sports Net Returns to DIRECTV Lineup Today](_blank)
''Market Watch'' March 15, 2010 The network then drastically reduced its paid programming blocks to a more traditional late night-only arrangement under NBC management (between 3 a.m. and 7 a.m. Eastern time), and mainly limited their offerings to trusted advertisers such as Time Life
Time Life, with sister subsidiaries StarVista Live and Lifestyle Products Group, a holding of Direct Holdings Global LLC, is an American production company and direct marketer conglomerate, that is known for selling books, music, video/DVD, ...
. The paid programming itself was also subject to pre-emption with live sports from Asia or Australia, and fully put on hiatus during Olympic coverage.
High definition
A 1080i
1080i (also known as Full HD or BT.709) is a combination of frame resolution and scan type. 1080i is used in high-definition television (HDTV) and high-definition video. The number "1080" refers to the number of horizontal lines on the screen. ...
high-definition feed of the network was launched in January 2007. Initially, its HD feed was shared with sister network Golf Channel
Golf Channel (also verbally referred to as simply Golf) is an American sports television television network, network owned by the NBC Sports Group division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. Founded in Birmingham, Alabama, it is currently ...
in an arrangement marketed as Versus/Golf HD; Golf Channel programming was broadcast during the daytime hours, and Versus programming was broadcast during the evening and primetime hours with some schedule variation during Tour de France coverage. The shared channel was replaced by individual HD feeds for both channels in December 2008.
In May 2013, the network's standard-definition
Standard-definition television (SDTV, SD, often shortened to standard definition) is a television system which uses a resolution that is not considered to be either high or enhanced definition. "Standard" refers to it being the prevailing sp ...
feed was converted to a widescreen
Widescreen images are displayed within a set of aspect ratios (relationship of image width to height) used in film, television and computer screens. In film, a widescreen film is any film image with a width-to-height aspect ratio greater than t ...
presentation with letterboxing to duplicate the display seen on the high-definition feed in line with their competitors' presentations of their SD channels.
References
{{Sports television in the United States (defunct)
Defunct television networks in the United States
English-language television stations in the United States
NBCUniversal networks
Sports television networks in the United States
Television channels and stations established in 1995
Television channels and stations disestablished in 2021
1995 establishments in Connecticut
2021 disestablishments in the United States