NBCSN was an American
sports television
The broadcasting of sports events (also known as a sportscast) is the live coverage of sports as a television program, on radio, and other broadcasting media. It usually involves one or more sports commentators describing events as they happen. ...
channel owned by the
NBC Sports Group 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 primar ...
, 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 primar ...
. 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'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 ...
. 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 202 ...
.
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 Madi ...
,
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 s ...
, and
Peacock
Peafowl is a common name for three bird species in the genera '' 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 peafowl are r ...
.
[
]
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 Mon ...
'' 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 previ ...
.[ The network was one of two (the other being Speedvision) formed out of a partnership of Cox Cable and Times Mirror 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 on as partners. The network initially had trouble gaining carriage and was also broadcast on several ]low power television
Low-power broadcasting is broadcasting by a broadcast station at a low transmitter power output to a smaller service area than "full power" stations within the same region. It is often distinguished from "micropower broadcasting" (more commonly ...
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 racing cyclist. Regarded as a sports icon for winning the Tour de France seven consecutive times from 1999 to 2005 after recovering fr ...
. 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 ...
, 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 discover ...
''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
Broadcast syndication is the practice of leasing the right to broadcasting television shows and radio programs to multiple television stations and radio stations, without going through a broadcast network. It is common in the United States where ...
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, 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 ...
, 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 ...
, and the Iditarod. 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 sports league, league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranke ...
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. 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 (NHL), Eastern Conference. The team play ...
, 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'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, a kickboxing
Kickboxing is a combat sport focused on kicking and 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 practiced for self-defense, general ...
promotion where fights are contested in a unique round ring without ropes. Versus entered into a partnership with World Extreme Cagefighting (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, incor ...
events to the channel, with the first being broadcast live on June 3, 2007. Versus aired all the WEC events, except for WEC 48, 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 ...
.
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, 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 co ...
, 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 it ...
.
In addition, Versus also added a package of college football games 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 ...
, Pac-10
The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate athletic conference, that operates in the Western United States, participating in 24 sports at the NCAA Division I level. Its football teams compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS; formerly Divisio ...
(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 f ...
conferences. totaling 19 scheduled college football games on the channel during 2007.
Versus secured coverage for the 2007 America's Cup, 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 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 al ...
. In 2006, it picked up American broadcast rights (in conjunction with The Tennis Channel
Tennis Channel is an American sports-oriented digital cable and satellite television network owned by the Sinclair Television Group subsidiary of the Sinclair Broadcast Group. It is devoted to events and other programming related to the game of ...
) 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 organi ...
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 ...
and the World Championship Sports Network (later Universal Sports), 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 202 ...
, 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. Since ...
. On August 7, 2008, the channel announced a 10-year deal with the Indy Racing League 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 o ...
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-b ...
, and World Series of Off-Road Racing.
The channel aired the 96th Grey Cup, 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 c ...
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 Night F ...
before moving to NBC Sports, handicapper Rob DeAngelis, comedian Reese Waters, and Jenn Sterger) 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 Heavywe ...
vs. Jon Jones in the Light Heavyweight division. The second event aired on August 1 with Jon Jones facing Vladimir Matyushenko. 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 g ...
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 F ...
, 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 minor league basketball organization. The league was known as the National Basketball Development League (NBDL) from 2001 to 2005, and the NBA Dev ...
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 ...
Whelen Modified Tour and NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour each Wednesday at 7 p.m. The races originated from a variety of locations, including Stafford Motor Speedway, 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 ...
, 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 ...
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 College football, football team representing the University of Notre Dame in Notre Dame, Indiana (CDP), Notre Dame, Indiana, north of the city of South Bend, Indiana. The team pla ...
, 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 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 ...
.
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
The NHL Winter Classic (french: La Classique hivernale de la LNH) is an annual regular season outdoor ice hockey game played in the National Hockey League (NHL) on or around New Year's Day, generally in a football or baseball stadium in an area ...
, 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 listings information as well as entertainment and television-related news.
The company sold its print magazine division, TV Guide Magazine LLC, in 2008.
Corporat ...
'', 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'' 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 Cana ...
, dropped the UFL, and added coverage of college hockey 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 multi ...
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, th ...
. 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 te ...
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 Olympi ...
, 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 conti ...
—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 Kal ...
. 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 Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...
. 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 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 football teams organized by FIFA. It took place in Russia from 14 June to 15 July 2018, after the country was awarded the hosting righ ...
from corporate sibling Telemundo
Telemundo (; formerly NetSpan) is an American Spanish-language terrestrial television network owned by NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises, a division of NBCUniversal, which in turn is owned by Comcast. It provides content nationally with pr ...
: 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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
, 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 (association football), transfer players from other playing staff into their playing staff. Such a transfer is completed by registering the player into the new ...
in January 2019. Two months later, NBCSN added an hour-long simulcast of the Sky Sports News 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 Australia ...
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 Madi ...
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 o ...
, 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 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 s ...
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'' and '' Afropavo'' within the tribe Pavonini of the family Phasianidae, the pheasants and their allies. Male peafowl are referred to as peacocks, and female peafowl are r ...
, 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 2021 Stanley Cup Finals was the championship series of the National Hockey League's (NHL) 2020–21 season and the culmination of the 2021 Stanley Cup playoffs. The series was between the Montreal Canadiens and the defending champion Tamp ...
.
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 identi ...
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, ...
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 advertising, ...
industries, the acceleration of cord-cutting, 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 Fo ...
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 Madi ...
, 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'' and '' Afropavo'' within the tribe Pavonini of the family Phasianidae, the pheasants and their allies. Male peafowl are referred to as peacocks, and female peafowl are r ...
, 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 ch ...
, 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 published ''MotorTrend'' until 1998, when it was sold to ...
and a tertiary deal with RFD TV; Motor Trend became its primary television partner at the start of 2022, though the fate of other surrounding non-NBC programming such as PowerNation
PowerNation is an American automotive how-to enthusiast television program that began originally as ''PowerBlock''. The programming is produced by Gray Television, which purchased the assets of PowerNation's former owner Raycom Media in 2019. Pow ...
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
Cornhole (also known regionally as sack toss, or bags) is a lawn game popular in North America in which players or teams take turns throwing fabric bean bags at a raised, angled board with a hole in its far end. The goal of the game is to scor ...
"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 ...
(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 th ...
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 202 ...
.
'' Football Night in America'' 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 Night F ...
: lead NHL studio host (2011–2021), '' Football Night in America'' on-site host (2018–2021)
* Bob Costas: 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: host (2014–2021)
* Mike Tirico
Mike Tirico (; born December 13, 1966) is an American sportscaster. He is currently the NFL play-by-play announcer on NBC's ''Sunday Night Football'', having replaced Al Michaels in 2022. From 2006 to 2015, Tirico served as a play-by-play anno ...
: '' NBC Sunday Night Football''/'' Football Night in America'' host (2016–2021)
Hockey
* Mike Emrick
Michael "Doc" Emrick (born August 1, 1946) is an American former network television play-by-play sportscaster and commentator noted mostly for his work in ice hockey. He was the lead announcer for National Hockey League national telecasts on bot ...
: 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 Co ...
: play-by-play (2006–2009, 2011–2015)
* Kenny Albert: play-by-play (2006, 2010, 2011–2015); #2 play-by-play (2015–2020); lead play-by-play (2021)
* Chris Cuthbert: 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: play-by-play (2014–2021)
* Rick Peckham: 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: studio analyst (2006), lead color commentator (2007–2021)
* Pierre McGuire: 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 ...
: "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, ...
: "Inside the Glass" reporter/booth color commentator (2006–2007, 2011–2021)
* A. J. Mleczko
Allison Jaime "A. J." Mleczko Griswold (born June 14, 1975) is an American ice hockey player and analyst. She won a gold medal at the 1998 Winter Olympics and a silver medal at the 2002 Winter Olympics.
Playing career
Mleczko attended New Canaan ...
: color commentator (2018–2021)
* Ray Ferraro: "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 season ...
: "Inside the Glass" reporter/studio analyst (2015–2019); lead "Inside the Glass" reporter (2019–2021)
* Jamie Baker: color commentator (2014–2021)
* Bret Hedican: "Inside the Glass" reporter (2014–2021)
* Daryl Reaugh: "Inside the Glass" analyst (2012–2021)
* Jim Fox: color commentator (2014–2021)
* Brian Hayward: 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 Night F ...
: lead studio host (2014–2021)
* Mike Milbury: lead studio analyst (2008–2020), substitute lead color commentator (2017–2020)
* Keith Jones: lead studio analyst (2005–2021)
* Kathryn Tappen: 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 Chi ...
: studio analyst (2010, 2014–2019); NHL outdoor games reporter (2014–2019)
* Anson Carter: 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 lap-by-lap announcer (2019–2021)
* Jon Beekhuis: pit reporter (2013–2021), color commentator (2009–2012)
* Townsend Bell: color commentator (2013–2021), pit reporter (2012)
* Dave Burns: pit reporter (2015–2021), lead lap-by-lap (2015–2021)
* Jeff Burton: color commentator (2015–2021), studio host (2014–2021)
* Jac Collinsworth: Host/Features Reporter (2021)
* Leigh Diffey: 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 lap-by-lap announcer (2019–2021)
* Dale Earnhardt Jr.: 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)
* 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 champio ...
: studio analyst (2015–2021)
* Parker Kligerman
Parker L. Kligerman (born August 8, 1990) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series driving the No. 48 Chevrolet Camaro for Big Machine Racing. Kligerman is a former development driver ...
: 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 ...
K&N Pro Series), pit reporter (2016–2021)
* Kelli Stavast: 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 progra ...
), pit reporter (2017–2021)
* Steve Letarte: color commentator (2015–2021)
* Robin Miller: pit reporter (2011–2021)
* Kyle Petty: studio analyst (2014–2021)
* Ralph Sheheen: 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 ...
K&N Pro Series)
* Brian Till: reserve IndyCar lap-by-lap (2012–2016), reserve IMSA 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 t ...
: 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 professio ...
: color commentator (2019–2021), studio analyst (2019–2021)
* Paul Tracy: color commentator (2014–2021)
* Ricky Carmichael
Richard Joseph Carmichael (born November 27, 1979) is an American former professional motocross and stock car racing driver. He competed in the AMA Motocross Championships from 1997 to 2007 and in NASCAR from 2008 to 2011. Carmichael is notab ...
: color commentator (2019–2021)
* Daniel Blair: reporter (2019–2021)
* Grant Langston: color commentator (2012–2021)
* Bob Varsha: reserve lap-by-lap (2013–2014)
* Brian Vickers: 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: Features reporter (2014–2021)
* Brad Daugherty: studio analyst (2020–2021)
* James Hinchcliffe: 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/alternate studio host (2013–present)
* Lee Dixon: lead color commentator (2013–present)
* Graeme Le Saux: lead color commentator (2013–present)
* Tim Howard: alternate commentator (2013–2016); studio analyst (2020–present)
* Geoff Cameron
Geoffrey Scott "Geoff" Cameron (born July 11, 1985) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a defender.
Cameron began playing college soccer with the West Virginia Mountaineers and the Rhode Island Rams, as well as USL Premier ...
: 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 his ...
: 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 player ...
: 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: studio analyst (2013–present)
* Kyle Martino
Kyle Hunter Martino (born February 19, 1981) is an American former professional soccer player who spent seven seasons with the Columbus Crew and Los Angeles Galaxy in Major League Soccer as a midfielder and is currently a television soccer anal ...
: studio analyst (2013–2017; 2018–2020)
* Roger Bennett: contributor (2014–present)
* Michael Davies: contributor (2014–2021)
Mixed martial arts
* Bas Rutten: lead commentator (2012–2021)
* Todd Harris: 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 an ...
: co-commentator (2018–2021)
* Brian Stann: 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 com ...
: studio analyst (2018–2021)
* Randy Couture
Randall Duane Couture (; born June 22, 1963) is an American actor, former U.S. Army sergeant, former mixed martial artist and former collegiate and Greco-Roman wrestler. During his tenures in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), he bec ...
: studio analyst (2014–2021)
* Caroline Pearce
Caroline Pearce (born 1 September 1981 in Cambridge, England) is an English athlete, sports host, model, published author, and is the presenter for BT Sport's ''UFC: Beyond The Octagon'' and reporter for Fox Sports and UFC Fight Pass. She played t ...
: reporter (2018–2021)
* Kenny Rice: co-commentator (2013–2021)
* Chael Sonnen: lead commentator (2015–2016)
* Renzo Gracie
Renzo Gracie (; born March 11, 1967) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner. A member of the Gracie family of Brazil, Renzo is a 7th Degree Black Belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu under Carlos Gracie Jr. He is the ...
: co-commentator (2016–2021)
Programming
Event coverage
Olympics
* '' Olympics on NBC'': 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 (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 impaired ...
(2014–2021)
Motor sports
* '' NASCAR on NBC'' (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
The ARCA Menards Series East (formerly Busch East Series, Busch North Series, Camping World East Series, and NASCAR K&N Pro Series East) is a regional stock car racing series owned and operated by the Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA) an ...
/ ARCA Menards Series West (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 (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'' (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 progra ...
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 highlights package for Indy Pro 2000 Championship & USF2000
* Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross (2012–2021) (Moto2 450 & 250 races shared with NBC, also streamed on Live Extra)
* AMA Supercross Championship (2019–2021)
** 3 Races to be exclusively on NBC
** 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 (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 l ...
(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 (2013–2014, tape delayed)
* TORC: The Off Road Championship (2014, tape delayed)
* ARCA Racing Series (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 dire ...
(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 Indianapoli ...
* MotoGP World Championship (2020–2021)
** Include Moto2 and Moto3 Races
* Superbike World Championship (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 2022 ...
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 has ...
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 bod ...
(selected games in Spanish, simulcast from Telemundo
Telemundo (; formerly NetSpan) is an American Spanish-language terrestrial television network owned by NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises, a division of NBCUniversal, which in turn is owned by Comcast. It provides content nationally with pr ...
or Universo) (2018–2019)
* FA Women's Super League
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 ...
'' (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 ...
(2011–2019)
* USA Sevens (2012–2020)
* English Premiership (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 an ...
'' (2006–2021)
** Bayou Classic (Southern-Grambling State) (2015–2021)
* '' College Basketball on NBCSN'' (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 Easter ...
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 has ...
'' (2011–2021)
** Pre-game show
** Notre Dame spring game (Blue-Gold game)
Other sports
* KFC Big Bash League Cricket (2016–2018)
* Suncorp Super Netball (2019–2021)
* Netball World Cup
The Netball World Cup is a quadrennial international netball world championship organised by the World Netball, inaugurated in 1963 World Netball Championships, 1963. Since its inception the competition has been dominated primarily by the Aust ...
(2019)
* FINA World Aquatics Championships
* World Athletics Championships
* 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 ...
)
* 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 Ritter ...
(2011–2015)
* National Pro Grid League (2014–2016)
* World Series of Fighting (2012–2016)
* Professional Fighters League (2017–2018)
* Premier Boxing Champions (2015–2016)
* Curling Night in America
''Curling Night in America'' is an American television program broadcasting a made-for-television curling tournament called the U.S. Curling Grand Prix. The first season aired originally on Universal Sports, starting on January 22, 2015. It has ...
(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 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. 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 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 s ...
, aired a portion of the ''Sunday Night Football
Sunday Night Football may refer to:
* ''NBC Sunday Night Football'', the Sunday night broadcast of American NFL games by NBC since 2006
* ''ESPN Sunday Night Football'', the Sunday night broadcast of American NFL games from 1987 to 2005 by ESPN
* ...
'' 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 Nationa ...
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 ...
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 (United States), Democratic Party, Obama was the first Af ...
'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 v ...
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, writ ...
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 ...
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 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, NASCAR Playoffs and NASCAR Xfinity Series, Xfinity Series seasons; the majority of which will air on NBCSN.
On August 17, 2014, NBCSN aired rain-delayed coverage of the USGA's 2014 United States Amateur Championship (golf), United States Amateur Challenge, making it the first golf event to be televised on the network.
Original programming
Original programs aired by the network include ''NBC SportsTalk'', and the weekly ''CNBC Sports Biz'', which both debuted in the fall of 2011 (the latter ending when Darren Rovell 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 correspondent). Bob Costas hosts ''Costas Tonight'', which consists of monthly interview episodes, and quarterly town hall meeting, town hall specials – the first of which aired from Indianapolis 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 (TV series), 36'', ''Caught Looking'' (a weekly series co-produced with Major League Baseball), and ''Sports Illustrated'', a monthly series produced in conjunction with the Sports Illustrated, 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''. It was renewed for a second season in 2015.
In April 2016, NBCSN acquired rights to air the Dan Patrick (sportscaster), Dan Patrick-hosted ''Sports Jeopardy!'' The premiere run followed nightly 2016 Summer Olympics 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. 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 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 Infomercial, 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. 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 High-definition television, high-definition feed of the network was launched in January 2007. Initially, its HD feed was shared with sister network Golf Channel 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 television, standard-definition feed was converted to a widescreen presentation with letterboxing (filming), 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)
NBCSN,
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