It isn’t exactly news that we are in the end times for NBCSN. Earlier this year John Ourand of Sports Business Journal reported that the network would not exist in 2022. On Monday evening, we got some details about how that will happen and what will become of the network’s live play-by-play properties.
NBCSN ceases operations on December 31. Ourand reports that the next day begins a year where USA Network will be very active in sports broadcasting.
Among the play-by-play properties moving to USA are Premier League soccer, the Beijing Winter Olympics, USGA and RA golf, college basketball, NASCAR, Indy Car, the Tour de France, and horse racing. A formal announcement is expected later this week, but company executives believe live sports will be a major component in turning USA Network into one of the highest-rated on cable. USA Network isn’t the only one benefitting from the shutdown of NBCSN. The company will also put live sports on CNBC, E!, and Peacock.
“The entertainment viewer will be exposed to these sports properties in ways that they haven’t been before,” Tom Knapp, NBC Sports Programming Executive VP, told Ourand. “And the sports fan will be exposed to entertainment properties in ways that they haven’t before. We believe that cross-pollination will be good for everybody.”
