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The NBC Sports Group launches the NBC Sports Network at 4 PM ET on 
January 2nd to replace Versus, which had been Comcast’s bullriding and gunshooting and cycling channel pre-NBC Universal merger. The new strategy is to bring all four tiers of NBC Sports Group’s assets (broadcast network, two national cable networks, 11 regional sports networks and digital) into “a consistent framework of branding”. The better to compete with Disney’s ESPN and Fox Sports. The NBC Sports Network will serve as a 24/7 cable platform, according to Jon Miller, the president of programming for NBC Sports and the NBC Sports Network: “We have three tranches of programming that we’re looking to put on NBC Sports Network starting with live events, live games, and big-league relationships. The second tranche is original news, talk and conversation. The third tranche is the original programming we’ve developed with the NHL around shows like NHL 36, with the NFL like NFL Turning Point, and with the Bob Costas show that will be breaking this year, Costas Tonight, as well as the Costas Town Halls. We’ll embrace the brands that are already associated with NBC Sports like the Triple Crown. We’ve added the MLS to our portfolio. We have a strong and robust relationship with the Tour de France. And then we will obviously have an extensive Olympic presence come June, July, and August with the Olympic trials, then actually live Olympic programming throughout the game.”
Highlights of NBC Sports Group’s January 2 Schedule (all times are ET:
7:30 AM: VERSUS Replay of 2010 NHL Winter Classic
10 AM: VERSUS Replay of 2011 NHL Winter Classic
1 PM: NBC 2012 NHL Winter Classic
3 PM: VERSUS NBC Sports: A Storied History
4 PM: NBC Sports Network NHL Live Post-Game (from Philadelphia)
4:30 PM: NBC Sports Network Cold War on Ice: 1972 Summit Series
6 PM: NBC Sports Network NBC SportsTalk
7:30 PM: NBC Sports Network NHL Live Pre-Game
8 PM: NBC Sports Network NHL: San Jose at Vancouver
10:30 PM: NBC Sports Network NHL Live Post-Game
11 PM: NBC Sports Network Replay of NBC SportsTalk
12:30 AM: NBC Sports Network NHL Overtime
Editor-in-Chief Nikki Finke - tip her here.
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I’ll tell you what you CAN expect from NBC Sports – the continuous blathering of their announcers to the point that it detracts from the sport at hand – especially the Olympics. Their announcers MUST be paid by the word – because they just won’t shut up. It is especially disconcerting during the Opening and Closing Ceremonies where every nuance of the performance has to be talked to death.
I agree with you. The commentators can’t shut up. And they’re really saying nothing worth listening to
Does your remote lack a mute button?
Yes, there is always mute, BUT it would be nice to hear the opening and closing ceremonies – especially the unique music composed for just these events without the constant din of the announcers. Don’t you think the ‘mute’ comment is a little pedestrian for this thread?
Keep in mind NBC has changed ownership since the last Olympics, and they fired Dick Ebersol, who was the architect of all that human-interesty Olympic coverage.
LIKE EVERY OTHER SPORTS NETWORKS, THIS ONE OFFERS ME NOTHING IN THE SPORTS I AM INTERESTED IN.
Bob Costas has to be the most boring tv personality ever.Does anyone think he’s good ? So we have another boring Olympics to look forward to, with Costas and those stupid sob story interviews
Hey Joe, you say that Bob Costas must be the “most boring TV personality ever” and I would have to disagree. To appreciate how great Costas is (in terms of sports knowledge and understanding an announcer’s role in conveying drama when necessary and letting the silences speak loudly when apropos) one just has to listen to other “highly regarded” announcers. Take, for example, Joe Buck, who does the World Series and top NFL games. He sucks the life out of every televised contest with his funereal delivery. He pales in comparison to Costas who really shows an amazing range in that he can cover baseball and football and “serious news” like the Penn State sex scandal scoop with ease and alacrity. That’s the mark not only of a good announcer but a true journalistic professional as well. Just my two cents.
I’ve been saying they need to do this for a few years now. NBC has such an opportunity at their feet. ESPN sucks and NBC has the rights to the two sports growing the fastest in popularity in the US, NHL and UFC. These are sports that are pretty much ignored by Sportscenter. Since they’ve already taken one of my ideas, take my second; offer Adam Schefter and Chris Mortensen however much it takes to lure them away from ESPN. Here’s to a new channel for sports fans, and hopefully this will drive ESPN out of business. If I hear them put “-gate” at the end of another marginally controversial event, I’m going to vomit.
Does NBC or Fox have the rights to UFC? I think it might be (recently) Fox.
FOX has the UFC, not NBC. Plus, the NHL on Versus gets only 300K viewers per game. That’s not good at all. ESPN has all the cash and leverage in cornering the market on live sports. When Fox Sports and ESPN team up to block you out of a $3B contract for the Pac-12, you have a big struggle in addition to that you are in 40% less households. I just hope on January 2-3 I don’t see an infomercial if they want to call themselves “24 Hour”.
Since coming to NBC the NHL has nearly tripled its ratings. It’s definitely the fastest growing sport in the US and can possibly take over third place from the NBA this year (given the shortened season due to labor strife).
The real problem is the fact, as you pointed out, that Versus/NBC Sports is in only 60% of households and isn’t available in Canada at all. That’s a problem, i’m thinking, they’re going to need to solve.
Not a chance. No one cares about hockey.
Ignorant remark, Huffington Post, many online forums indicate great popularity with the NHL especially in the Eastern US and of course, Canada.
Here’s what I expect…lowbrow jock morons wearing flagpins commenting on violence and barbarism, sponsored by nefarious multi-national corporations with no allegiance to America whatsoever.
I guess you can just turn on CSPAN and shut the fuck up.
so their programming, ex-nfl, looks like it will be solid olympics and hockey – this is going to give ESPN a run for its money… in Canada.
So, it sounds like Universal Sports (which I presume is one of the two “national cable networks” they indicate) will soon take on a more prominent NBC Sports branding. I wonder what it becomes – NBC Sports International? NBC Sports Universal, maybe, to retain the “Universal” branding?
And does this mean the Comcast Sports Nets become NBC Sports , similar to Fox Sports Net?
CMG,
The two national sports networks they are referring to are:
1) NBC Sports Network (formerly Versus)
2) Golf Channel
Not Universal Sports Network…
Do you know what the issue is with Universal Sports? Seems in an Olympic year we would see all the qualifying meets & OLY Trials .I hope they don’t neglect it! Any word on that?
“Branding” has becime such an over-used word that it has begun to lose its meaning. NBC’s “brand” has generally suffered due to poor primetime programming choices during the Silverman era (main NBC channel). Perhaps the Kabletown suits should consider how to improve the overall “brand” that is NBC, which now includes a sports network. Based on previous and recent examples of corporate group-think at Kabletown, do not hold out much hope that anything will actually improve anytime soon.
With Bob Greenblatt running NBC, things might get better once he has a full development slate that is completely his own. Playboy Club, Prime Suspect were all developed before he landed there.
Hah! Being that you got the term Kabletown from an NBC product, maybe their branding doesn’t suck so bad after all!
I’m happy as long as the leave the coverage of the Tour de France alone.
Joe Buck will now be doing the Tour— so occasionally you will have a minute or two of the Tour, except for all the set pieces about the riders and their personal challenges and traumas, like not enough Champagne in the team trailer.
To cross pollinate the NBC Sports “brand”, golf legend in his own mind Johnny Miller will be doing color commentary for Buck— if he can get a sentence in now and then. Miller, of course, will point out all the losers amongst the riders and endlessly assert that he could peddle faster than any one of them.
Costas set to “host” so he will speak for about 30 seconds at the start and end of each day, for which he is paid multi-millions of $$$$$$$$ for his usual stream of empty phrases— and will always argue for the end of the “Designated hitter” as well as the “wild card”.
Leslie Visser is set as one of the “roadside girls” who will breathlessly give us important updates throughout each stage of the Tour such as exactly how much the handlebars weigh and whether or not the riders are wearing underwear.
In short, NBC Sports will bring you the Tour, occasionally, up close and personal— and with plenty of commercials to entertain.
Just tune in sometime to the crappy Giro d’Italia or Vuelta Espana coverage. The NBC commentators don’t even know the riders names, can’t call out who’s in a sprint finish. Their knowledge of the history of the events they cover or the history of cycling is nonexistent. But by gawd their ‘mercin common taters!
While NBC bought up the rights to broadcast the Major Italian races from RCS Media here in the U.S., because Lance Armstrong decided to ride the Giro for once in his life, they buried La Primavera (Milan-San Remo) so it hasn’t been shown in America for the past couple of years. You can’t even pay to watch it on Cycling TV.
Will NBC continue show the Tour de France? Only if an American is winning!
Canadians do not have access to ESPN, we have the equaliant in TSN. This channel won’t be coming here since Verus is not currently offered to Canadian broadcasters due to a government mandate that make it hard for US channels to launch here.
Keep the hockey on there and we are good!!
Bruins will repeat…Black and Yellow,Black and Yellow,Black and Yellow,
NBC need to air more games on broadcats TV and yes, I agree with the constant palaber going on with their commentators needs to cease and hoping they tone it down come Olympic time in July. Now, if ABC Sports can get back into the fold and not be relegated to a bastard child of ESPN, then we might have something here to watch.
wait…is NBC actually bragging about having access to MLS? one of the most boring sports leagues in the world, featuring the world’s most boring sport, soccer? a sport that has ZERO traction inside the United States outside of immigrants?
LOL! How pathetic!
except for the fact that on average MLS games sell more tickets than NBA and the NHL. Your stupid racist commet hold no water
“a sport that has ZERO traction inside the United States outside of immigrants?”
Even if this were true (clearly, it’s not) – ‘immigrants’ are one hell of a lot of people, hoss. And their money is just as green as anyone else’s.
You can whine and wail about soccer or immigrants all you want, you can ignore it and make borderline racist comments. You may not like change, but it’s already happened.
Are they going to have an emphasis on outdoor programming?? Why would they just focus on past played things. I personally liked their coverage of INDYcars and outdoor programming.
So will NBC Sports Network follow the World Cup skiing and swimming competitions or do I have to order Direct TV.
NBC Universal NEVER captions any of its sports shows, so it’s hard to get excited about this. Hope COMCAST gets with the program and starts reaching out to the 30 million Americans who are deaf or hearing-impaired.
Can someone from NBC SPORTS NETWORK tell me how this will affect the outstanding cycling covering I’ve enjoyed over the last two years with both Versus and Universal sports which are both under this networks banner.
There are a lot of cycling nuts like me that are so appreciate of the coverage of such classics like MILAN-SAN REMO, PARIS-ROUBAIX,TOUR OF FLANDERS, staGE RACES (GIRO D’ITALIA, TOUR DE FRANCE, VUELTA A ESPANA) and the World Championships. And how much coverage will the cycling in the London Olympics get?
Also I live in NYC and Time-Warner was threatening to remove Universal Sports from the Free cable list. Is that over?
Thank you in advance for responding.
E
Can someone with actual knowledge from NBC speak to this please?
Good – all the sports that nobody gives a shit about packed into one convenient location to ignore. About the only time I don’t mute a game is when I’m watching a Dodger game on Extra Innings and it’s Vin Scully.
So what do those of us do who have a cable company that does not offer Versus and of course will not offer the new NBC Sports?
I’ve been hoping for the last few months since NBC’s ramped up their Versus to NBC Sports Network overhaul that they jump on NHL games. Aside from the local regionals covering home team games (Fox Sports West here in Socal), there’s not a lot more on broadcast cable except the games that have been on Versus.
NBC Sports Network can not live on Olympics alone as it’s “seasonal”, so to speak. They’d miss a huge opportunity to not ante up and get more NHL programming to fill in the gaps. After all, who wants to watch re-runs of an NBC Sports Talk segment fourteen times a night?
Will the NEW sports channel still provide fishing and hunting programs?
What about World Cup Skiing? That’s the reason I’ve been watching Universal and I don’t see where NBC Sports is including this? It sucks to lose Universal Sports if NBC isn’t going to pick up the same line-up of coverage.
Agree with Angela- Just lost Universal on my Comcast Channel. Watched World Cup Skiing and Figure Skating all the time. Who is going to pick these two sports up?
I love the Swimming& was just watching the whole week of nationals ,world cups in europe then the Duel in the pool! I now know all their names& the swimming Grand Prix’s start next week!& I was watching the skating last night at 2 am then it went off air.So if Comcast owns NBC & they alredy have it in their intro package& Astound too ,wouldn’t it get high lighted as run up to London? & use this other cable platform to good use?!?!
Bummed about losing Universal Sports. But it’s really only a minor inconvenience. You can watch almost anything on the internet with just a little bit of looking. Hopefully, NBC Sports will have an online presence as complete as the ESPN3 website.
NBC Sports channel: Hockey and fishing. Where is World Cup and other winter sports? What will happen to cycling? Universal Sports is gone from Verizon FiOS. Crap Crap and more Crap. ADVERTISERS: PLEASE DROP NBC SPORTS until they bring back Universal Sports as over-the-air broadcast! Nobody is going to watch this crap.
And the ultimate insult is to market this loss as if it is the cable company’s fault!
~A former fan of Universal Sports
Re. providers (mine is Cablevision) no longer having “Universal Sports” – What exactly IS the situation/reason? And will “NBCSN” be picking up some of their shows/coverage? (I too counted on them for [full] coverage of some winter sports.)
For the last 3 months Universal Sports has bombarded me with e-mails & adverts begging viewers to ask Verizon FIOS to keep it on the air.
So I did call and was told no knew anything about it.
Now my Verizon FIOS message center TV screen says, in a perversion of someone’s idea of truth, “Universal Sports will no longer carry content through your local broadcaster on Channel WNBC — 464. // This change was not initiated by Verizon. Instead, Universal Sports has decided not to renew their agreements with local providers to carry this content….”
Is there an entertainment lawyer in the house?