NBC Sports is the programming division of the American broadcast network NBC, owned by the NBCUniversal Television Group division of NBCUniversal, that is responsible for sports broadcasts on the network, and its dedicated national sports cable channels. Formerly operating as "a service of NBC News", it broadcasts a diverse array of sports events, including the Olympic Games, the NFL, NASCAR, the NHL, Notre Dame football, the PGA Tour, the IndyCar Series, the Premier League and the Triple Crown of Thoroughbred racing, among others. Other programming from outside producers - such as coverage of the Ironman Triathlon - is also presented on the network through NBC Sports. With Comcast's acquisition of NBCUniversal, its own cable sports networks were aligned with NBC Sports into a part of the division known as the NBC Sports Group.
Video NBC Sports
History
Early years
2000s
In 2000, NBC declined to renew its broadcast agreement with Major League Baseball. In 2002, it was additionally outbid by ESPN and ABC for the NBA's new broadcast contract, ending the league's twelve-year run on NBC.
During this era, NBC experimented with broadcasting emerging sports. In 2001, the network partnered with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) to establish the XFL - a new football league which introduced modified rules and debuted to tremendous, but short-lived fanfare, only lasting one season (NBC shared broadcast rights to the league's games, which were mainly held on Saturday nights, with UPN). In 2003, NBC obtained the broadcast rights and a minority interest in the Arena Football League. The network televised weekly games on a regional basis, as well as the entire playoffs. The deal lasted four years, after which the league and NBC parted ways.
Beginning with the 1999 Pennzoil 400, NBC began its foray into NASCAR. NBC, along with Fox, FX and TNT, obtained the broadcast rights of the top two series - the Winston Cup and Busch Series - in a six-year deal, beginning in 2001. NBC televised the second half of the season and alternated coverage of the Daytona 500 with Fox. In December 2005, NBC announced that it would not renew its agreement with NASCAR. In 2001, NBC obtained the broadcast rights to horse racing's Triple Crown in a five-year deal.
In 2004, NBC reached a broadcast agreement with the National Hockey League (NHL). The revenue-sharing deal called for the two sides to split advertising revenue after the network recouped the expenses. Games were supposed to begin airing on the network during the 2004-05 season, however a league lockout that resulted in the cancellation of that season delayed the start of the contract until the second half of the 2005-06 season. NBC televised regular season games at first on Saturday afternoons before moving the telecast to Sundays, Saturday and Sunday afternoon playoff games, and up to five games of the Stanley Cup Final. Additionally in 2008, NBC broadcast the first Winter Classic, an outdoor NHL game played on New Year's Day at Ralph Wilson Stadium, a success in attendance and television ratings. The following year's Winter Classic would become the most-watched regular season game in 34 years. In addition to this regular season success, Game 7 of the 2009 Stanley Cup Final was watched by an average of 8 million viewers, the highest ratings for an NHL game in 36 years.
The NFL also returned to NBC in 2006 after an eight-year hiatus, broadcasting the league's new flagship Sunday Night Football game, along with select postseason games and Super Bowls XLIII, XLVI, XLIX and LII.
NBC Sports Group
In January 2011, Comcast finalized its acquisition of a majority share in NBC Universal. As a result of the merger, the operations of Comcast's existing sports networks, such as Golf Channel and Versus, were merged into an entity known as the NBC Sports Group. NBC Sports' senior vice president Mike McCarley additionally became Golf Channel's new head. NBC Sports' golf production unit was merged with Golf Channel, along with NBC's on-air staff, with that unit rebranding under the banner "Golf Channel on NBC", while Versus was reformatted toward a more mainstream audience, renamed the NBC Sports Network and eventually rebranded as NBCSN.
The merger also helped influence an extension of NBC Sports' contract with the NHL; the 10-year deal - valued at close to $2 billion, unified the cable and broadcast television rights to the league and introduced a new "Black Friday" Thanksgiving Showdown game on NBC, along with national coverage for every game in the Stanley Cup playoffs. On July 3, 2011, ESPN obtained the exclusive broadcast rights to Wimbledon in a 12-year deal, ending NBC's television relationship with The Championships after 42 years.
On August 10, 2011, NBC Sports also announced a new three-year broadcasting contract with Major League Soccer to produce games for the 2012 season on NBC and the NBC Sports Network. This included the broadcast of two regular season games, two playoff games, and two national team matches on NBC and 38 regular season games, three playoff games, and two national team matches on NBC Sports Network. On October 28, 2012, NBC Sports also announced a three-year, $250 million deal to televise Premier League soccer in English (primarily on NBCSN) and Spanish (on Telemundo and mun2) beginning with the 2013-14 season, replacing ESPN and Fox Soccer as the league's U.S. broadcasters.
On October 15, 2012, NBC Sports announced that it had acquired broadcast rights to the Formula One World Championship (formerly held by Speed and Fox Sports) in a four-year deal with the series. The majority of its coverage (including much of the season, along with qualifying and practice sessions) would air on NBCSN, while NBC would air the Monaco Grand Prix, Canadian Grand Prix and the final two races of the season, which include the United States Grand Prix. All races will also be streamed online and through the NBC Sports Live Extra mobile app. On October 4, 2017, it was announced that NBC Sports lost the broadcast rights to ESPN beginning with the 2018-2019 season.
On March 18, 2013, nearly all of the operations for NBC Sports and NBCSN began to be based out of a purpose-built facility in Stamford, Connecticut. The move was made mainly to take advantage of tax credits given by the state of Connecticut, which NBC has taken advantage of previously with the daytime talk shows of its sister broadcast syndication division. Only Football Night in America remained in New York City, at Studio 8G in Rockefeller Center, until September 7, 2014, when production of that program also moved to Stamford.
In July 2013, NBC Sports reached a 10-year deal to restore NASCAR coverage to its properties for the first time since 2006. Beginning in the 2015 season, NBC and NBCSN televise coverage of the final 20 races of the Cup Series, and the final 19 races of the second-level circuit now known as the Xfinity Series. While no specific financial details were disclosed, NBC reportedly paid 50% more than ESPN and TNT (who took over the portion of the season previously held by NBC) combined under the previous deal.
In May 2015, NBCUniversal announced the formation of NBC Deportes, which will serve as a Spanish-language branch of NBC Sports for Telemundo and NBC Universo.
On June 7, 2015, NBC Sports and The R&A agreed to a twelve-year deal to televise The Open Championship, Senior Open Championship, and Women's British Open on NBC and Golf Channel, beginning in 2017. The move came a year after NBC lost the rights to USGA tournaments to Fox Sports. The R&A's deal with ESPN had been through 2017, but the broadcaster opted out of the final year of their agreement.
Universal Sports Network ceased operations in November 2015. NBCUniversal acquired the rights to the content that was previously held by Universal Sports Network. Much of the programming moved to Universal HD, with the rest of the programming moving to NBCSN and NBC Sports Live Extra.
On March 7, 2016 NBC Sports and England's Premiership Rugby agreed an initial three-year deal to televise the Aviva Premiership from the following season. Up to 24 regularly scheduled Game of the Week programs for each round of the premiership will air on NBCSN and up to 50 other games will also be streamed live throughout the season on NBC Sports Live Extra. NBC's first live match was on March 12, 2016 when London Irish hosted Saracens at the Red Bull Arena in New Jersey. Live on NBCSN.
In June 2016, the group launched NBC Sports Gold, an over-the-top streaming service. It debuted with a Cycling Pass, featuring several UCI road cycling races. In April 2017, a Track and Field Pass was launched, featuring IAAF and USA Track & Field meets, a Rugby Pass featuring the English Premiership, and a Pro Motocross Pass featuring the AMA Motocross Championship. A Premier League Pass was added in June 2017. The service is available on the website, and through apps for iOS, Android, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV and Chromecast. All passes except the Pro Motocross Pass are only available in the United States.
Maps NBC Sports
Olympics
In 1964, NBC televised the Summer Olympics in Tokyo; in 1972, NBC televised the Winter Olympic Games for the first time. 1980 would prove to be a stinging disappointment for the network; after contentious negotiations, NBC won the broadcast rights to the Summer Games in Moscow. After the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan, the United States and 64 other countries boycotted the event. NBC substantially scaled back its coverage and lost heavily in advertising revenue. In 1988, NBC televised the Summer Olympics in Seoul. Since then, it has branded itself as "America's Olympic Network", televising every Summer Olympic Games since the Seoul event, as well as having televised every Winter Olympics since 2002. In total, NBC has aired 13 Summer and Winter Olympics, the most by any one U.S. network; the Olympic Games have also become an integral part of the network, despite some recurring controversy over its method of tape delaying events in part to take advantage of a wider national audience in prime time. In 1998, Ebersol was named president of NBC Sports and Olympics. The 2010 Games in Vancouver were watched by a total of 190 million viewers, including 27.6 million viewers of the Gold Medal Game in men's hockey.
During the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, over 500 hours of the games were broadcast across five NBC-owned television channels (NBC, NBCSN, CNBC, MSNBC and USA Network) with 1,000 hours being streamed digitally. In January, the company announced some exclusive digital-only streaming of the 2014 Olympics via the NBCOlympics.com website and the NBC Sports Live Extra app for Android and iOS, including exclusive content such as Gold Zone, Olympic Ice and NBC's Olympic News Desk.
Programs throughout the years
Current programs
- NFL on NBC: 1955-1963 (NFL Championship Game), 1970-1997 (AFC), 2006-present (NBC Sunday Night Football), 2016-present (Thursday Night Football)
- Super Bowl: I (shared with CBS), III, V, VII, IX, XI, XIII, XV, XVII, XX, XXIII, XXVII, XXVIII, XXX, XXXII, XLIII, XLVI, XLIX, LII and LV
- Pre-game show: Grandstand (1975-1976), NFL 77, 78, et al. (1977-1986), NFL Live! (1987-1994), NFL on NBC (1995-1997), Football Night in America (2006-present)
- American Football League (1965-1969)
- College football (1946-1965, 1991-present)
- Notre Dame Football on NBC (1991-present)
- U.S. Army All-American Bowl (2004-present)
- Olympics on NBC
- Olympic Summer Games (1964, 1980, 1988, 1992, 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012, 2016, 2020, 2024, 2028, 2032)
- Olympic Winter Games (1972, 2002, 2006, 2010, 2014, 2018, 2022, 2026, 2030)
- NASCAR on NBC (1999-2006, 2015-present)
- Golf Channel on NBC (1964-present)
- Ryder Cup (1991-present)
- Presidents Cup (2000-present)
- Senior PGA Championship (1990-present)
- Women's PGA Championship (2015-present)
- The Open Championship (2016-present)
- Senior Open Championship (2016-present)
- Women's British Open (2016-present)
- NHL on NBC: 1966, 1972-1975, 1990-1994 (All Star Game), 2005-present
- Thoroughbred Racing on NBC (1981-present)
- Kentucky Derby (2001-present)
- Preakness Stakes (2001-present)
- Belmont Stakes (1950-1952, 2001-2005, 2011-present)
- Breeders' Cup (1984-2005, 2012-present)
- Haskell Invitational Stakes (2014-present)
- Santa Anita Derby (2009-present)
- Pegasus World Cup (2017-present)
- Woodford Reserve Turf Classic (2010-present)
- Royal Ascot (2017-present)
- French Open (1983-present)
- Tour de France (2011-present)
- IndyCar Series on NBC (2009-present)
- Premier League (2013-present)
- FINA World Championships
- USA Swimming
- IAAF World Championships
- USA Track & Field
- U.S. Figure Skating Championships (2008-present)
- ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating (2004-present)
- Four Continents Figure Skating Championships
- FIS Alpine Ski World Cup
- Bobsleigh World Cup
- Skeleton World Cup
- Red Bull Global Rallycross (2014-present)
- Fencing World Cup
- FINA Diving World Cup
- FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour
- World Marathon Majors
- Rugby
- Collegiate Rugby Championship (2010-present)
- Rugby World Cup (2011, 2015)
- USA Sevens (2011-present)
- English Premiership (2016-present)
- Premier Boxing Champions (2015-present)
Former programs
- Major League Baseball on NBC: World Series presented by The Gillette Company (1947-1965), NBC Game of the Week (1956-1964, 1966-1989), Baseball Night in America (1994-1995), Major League Baseball on NBC (1996-2000)
- World Series: 1947 (Games 1 & 5), 1948-1976, 1978, 1980, 1982, 1984, 1986, 1988, 1995 (Games 2, 3, & 6), 1997, 1999
- Major League Baseball: An Inside Look (1979-1989)
- NBA on NBC (1955-1962, 1990-2002)
- WNBA on NBC (1997-2002)
- 2002 FIBA World Championship
- Rose Bowl (1952-1988)
- Sugar Bowl (1959-1969)
- Orange Bowl (1965-1995)
- Fiesta Bowl (1978-1995)
- Cotton Bowl Classic (1953-1957, 1993-1995)
- Gator Bowl (1996-2006)
- Hall of Fame Bowl (1988-1992)
- Citrus Bowl (1984-1985)
- Army-Navy Game (1945-1953, 1955-1959, 1964-1965)
- USGA Championships (1995-2014)
- College Basketball on NBC (1969-1998)
- NCAA Tournament (1969-1981)
- Wimbledon (1969-2011)
- NBC SportsWorld (1978-1992)
- Championship Auto Racing Teams (1979-1990, 1994, 2005-2007)
- American Le Mans Series (1999-2004, 2007-2008)
- Formula One (2013-2017)
- Gillette Cavalcade of Sports (1946-1960)
- Michael Jordan Celebrity Golf Classic (1990s)
- Thoroughbred Racing on NBC
- Budweiser Million (1981-1986)
- Wood Memorial Stakes (2005, 2008, 2010)
- Hambletonian (2007-2012)
- Soccer
- FIFA World Cup (1966, 1986)
- MLS on NBC (2012-2014)
- The Superstars (1985-1990)
- XFL (2001)
- AFL on NBC (2003-2006)
- CFL on NBC (1954, 1982, 2012-2013)
- PBA Fall Tour (1984-1991)
- AVP Tour (1990-2009)
Notable personalities
Present
Play-by-play
- NBC Sunday Night Football - Al Michaels, Mike Tirico
- Thursday Night Football - Mike Tirico
- Notre Dame Football on NBC - Mike Tirico
- NHL on NBC - Mike Emrick, Kenny Albert, Gord Miller, John Forslund, Chris Cuthbert, Randy Hahn, Dave Strader, Rick Peckham
- Tennis on NBC - Ted Robinson
- Golf Channel on NBC - Dan Hicks, Mike Tirico, Terry Gannon
- Olympics on NBC - Mike Emrick, Tom Hammond, Dan Hicks, Mike Tirico, Ted Robinson, Al Trautwig, Arlo White, JP Dellacamera, Sebastian Salazar
- Premier League -Arlo White, Steve Bower, Peter Drury, Jim Proudfoot, Jon Champion, Martin Tyler
- NASCAR on NBC - Rick Allen, Leigh Diffey, Ralph Sheheen, Dave Burns
- IndyCar Series on NBC - Leigh Diffey, Rick Allen, Kevin Lee
- Formula One on NBC - Leigh Diffey
- IAAF/USA Track & Field - Rick Allen, Tom Hammond, Kenny Albert
- FINA/USA Swimming - Dan Hicks, Ted Robinson
- Red Bull Global Rallycross - Leigh Diffey, Toby Moody
- Rugby World Cup - Bill Seward
Analysts
- NBC Sunday Night Football - Cris Collinsworth
- Thursday Night Football - Cris Collinsworth, Kurt Warner
- Notre Dame Football on NBC - Doug Flutie
- Tennis on NBC - John McEnroe, Mary Carillo
- Golf Channel on NBC - Gary Koch, Peter Jacobsen, Johnny Miller
- NHL on NBC - Eddie Olczyk, Brian Boucher, Jamie Baker, Joe Micheletti, Bret Hedican, Pierre McGuire, Anson Carter, Ray Ferraro, Chris Therien, Keith Jones
- Premier League - Lee Dixon, Graeme Le Saux, Jim Beglin, Phil Neville, Tim Howard, Geoff Cameron, Kevin Kilbane, Andy Townsend, Kyle Martino, Robbie Mustoe, Robbie Earle
- NASCAR on NBC - Steve Letarte, Jeff Burton, Dale Jarrett,
- IndyCar Series on NBC - Paul Tracy, Steve Matchett, Townsend Bell
- IAAF/USA Track & Field - Ato Boldon, Sanya Richards-Ross, Craig Masback
- FINA/USA Swimming - Rowdy Gaines
- Formula One on NBC - David Hobbs, Steve Matchett
- Red Bull Global Rallycross - Townsend Bell
Reporters
- NBC Sunday Night Football - Michele Tafoya
- Thursday Night Football - Heather Cox
- Notre Dame Football on NBC - Kathryn Tappen
- Golf Channel on NBC - Roger Maltbie, Mark Rolfing, Notah Begay III, Steve Sands
- NHL on NBC - Pierre McGuire, Brian Engblom
- Olympics on NBC - Andrea Joyce, Michele Tafoya, Heather Cox
- IAAF/USA Track & Field - Lewis Johnson, Todd Harris
- FINA/USA Swimming - Michele Tafoya
- Formula One on NBC - Will Buxton,
- NASCAR on NBC - Marty Snider, Kelli Stavast, Dave Burns, Parker Kligerman, Alex Hayden, Jim Noble, Ralph Sheheen
- Red Bull Global Rallycross - Kristen Kenney
Studio hosts
- NBC Sunday Night Football - Mike Tirico, Dan Patrick, Liam McHugh
- Thursday Night Football - Rich Eisen, Liam McHugh, Chris Rose
- Notre Dame Fighting Irish - Liam McHugh
- NHL on NBC - Liam McHugh, Kathryn Tappen
- Golf Channel on NBC - Jimmy Roberts, Mike Tirico
- Olympics on NBC - Peter Alexander, Mary Carillo, Alex Flanagan, Lester Holt, Al Michaels, Dan Patrick, Jimmy Roberts, Mike Tirico
- Premier League - Rebecca Lowe, Arlo White, Steve Bower, Gary Lineker, Sebastian Salazar
- NASCAR on NBC - Krista Voda
Studio analysts
- NBC Sunday Night Football - Tony Dungy, Mike Florio, Rodney Harrison, Peter King
- Thursday Night Football - Tony Dungy, Rodney Harrison, Michael Irvin, Steve Mariucci, Reggie Wayne, Willie McGinest, LaDanian Tomlinson, Steve Smith Sr.
- Notre Dame Football on NBC - Chris Simms
- NHL on NBC - Mike Milbury, Keith Jones, Jeremy Roenick
- Premier League - Phil Neville, Robbie Mustoe, Robbie Earle, Kyle Martino
- NASCAR on NBC - Kyle Petty, Dale Jarrett, Ray Evernham
Former
Play-by-play
- NHL on NBC - Tim Ryan, Jim Simpson,
- Major League Baseball on NBC - Mel Allen, Bob Costas, Dick Enberg, Joe Garagiola, Sr., Curt Gowdy, Bryant Gumbel, Lindsey Nelson, Vin Scully, Bob Wolff
- Triple Crown - Tom Durkin
- The Championships, Wimbledon - Dick Enberg
- Notre Dame Football on NBC - Don Criqui, Dick Enberg, Tom Hammond, Dan Hicks
- NBC SportsWorld - Paul Page
- NASCAR on NBC - Bill Weber, Allen Bestwick
- IndyCar Series on NBC - Bob Jenkins, Mike King
- MLS on NBC - John Strong, Steve Cangialosi, Richard Fleming
Analysts
- NHL on NBC - Ted Lindsay, Bill Clement, John Davidson
- NFL on NBC - Merlin Olsen, Paul Maguire, Phil Simms, Bob Trumpy
- NBC Sunday Night Football - John Madden
- Major League Baseball on NBC - Joe Garagiola, Sr., Tony Kubek, Joe Morgan, Tom Seaver
- Notre Dame Football on NBC - Pat Haden, Mike Mayock
- College Basketball on NBC - Al McGuire, Billy Packer
- NASCAR on NBC - Benny Parsons, Wally Dallenbach, Jr.
- MLS on NBC - Brian Dunseth, Stuart Holden, Shep Messing, Robbie Russell
Reporters
- The Championships, Wimbledon - Bud Collins
- Major League Baseball on NBC - Bob Costas, Jim Gray, Tony Kubek, Hannah Storm
- Olympics on NBC - Melissa Stark, Lesley Visser, Chris Wragge, Craig Sager, Marty Snider
- NFL on NBC - Ahmad Rash?d, O.J. Simpson
- NBC Sunday Night Football - Andrea Kremer
- Notre Dame Football on NBC - Lewis Johnson, Alex Flanagan, John Dockery
- French Open - Bud Collins
- NASCAR on NBC - Bill Weber, Allen Bestwick, Matt Yocum, Mike Massaro
Studio hosts
- Olympics on NBC - Bob Costas, Curt Gowdy, Dick Enberg, Gayle Gardner, Bryant Gumbel, Greg Gumbel, Jim Lampley, Hannah Storm
- NFL on NBC - Gayle Gardner, Bryant Gumbel, Greg Gumbel, Jim Lampley
- NBC Sunday Night Football - Bob Costas
- Thursday Night Football - Mike Tirico
- Major League Baseball on NBC - Bill Macatee
- Notre Dame Football on NBC - Hannah Storm
- NASCAR on NBC - Bill Weber, Brian Williams
- NHL on NBC - Russ Thaler
- MLS on NBC - Russ Thaler
- Premier League - Russ Thaler
Telemundo personalities
- Andres Cantor
- Alejandro Blanco
Presidents and chairmen
- Chet Simmons (1977-1979)
- Arthur Watson (1979-1989)
- Dick Ebersol (1989-2011)
- Ken Schanzer (1998-2011)
- Jon Miller (2011-present)
Main competitors
- NBC Sports / NBC Sports Group
- ESPN on ABC / ESPN, Inc.
- Fox Sports / Fox Sports Media Group
- CBS Sports
References
External links
- Official website (Mobile)
Source of article : Wikipedia
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