This just in from the NBC Sports Group and I thank the fine people at its PR department for sending this press release to me. We’ve been hearing drips and drabs about Versus’ new original programming that will premiere in September. We heard about Liam McHugh hosting a college football studio show on Monday afternoons, a show headed by Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio and a Sports Business show to be helmed by CNBC’s Darren Rovell, plus last week, it was announced the first NFL Films-produced show, NFL Turning Point would premiere after Week 1 of the regular season.
Now, we have the official announcement of the lineups and the daily schedules of the programming. This is a huge upgrade from Versus’ other attempts to get a signature show. Under the “SportsTalk” banner, Versus will have College Football Talk and Pro Football Talk, hosted by Liam McHugh and Mike Florio, respectively, airing back to back Mondays starting at 5 p.m. Eastern.
Then from Tuesday through Thursday at 6 p.m. Eastern, you’ll have NBC SportsTalk hosted by Russ Thaler, formerly of Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic, discussing various topics utilizing the men and women working under the NBC Sports Group. Wednesdays will be devoted to hockey in the second half of the NHL season.
Friday’s edition of NBC SportsTalk will be devoted to football and Florio and Sports Illustrated’s Peter King will join Thaler to talk about all things NFL.
And following NBC SportsTalk on Friday evenings will be the Darren Rovell-hosted show, CNBC SportsBiz: Game On. You got all that? Don’t worry, I have everything listed below.
NBC SPORTS GROUP ANNOUNCES NEW NIGHTLY STUDIO SHOWS FOR VERSUS
NBC SportsTalk Airs Weeknights Live at 6 p.m. ET
CNBC Sports Biz: Game On with Darren Rovell Airs Fridays at 7 p.m.
Friday Night’s Live Football Show Features Peter King and Mike Florio
NBC SportsTalk to be Hosted by Comcast SportsNet’s Russ Thaler and Include Talent from all NBC Sports Group PlatformsNEW YORK (August 31, 2011) — The NBC Sports Group today announced a block of new live studio shows for VERSUS airing on weeknights from 6-7 p.m. ET under the banner of NBC SportsTalk, NBC’s successful digital franchise on NBCSports.com that includes ProFootballTalk, HardballTalk, ProBasketballTalk, ProHockeyTalk, CollegeFootballTalk, InsidetheIrish and ProGolfTalk.
In addition to the new 6 p.m. shows, VERSUS, which will be re-branded the NBC Sports Network on January 2, will also launch a sports-business show with CNBC’s Darren Rovell, titled CNBC Sports Biz: Game On, on Friday nights at 7 p.m. ET. VERSUS’ weeknight studio block launches on Thursday, September 8, leading into NBC’s NFL Kickoff coverage, featuring the first NFL game of the season between the New Orleans Saints and Green Bay Packers.
“NBC SportsTalk is the type of nightly, relevant programming that viewers can expect to see as we continue the re-branding process from VERSUS to the NBC Sports Network,” said Jon Miller, president of programming for NBC Sports and VERSUS. “The live nightly shows also give us the opportunity to tap into our stable of top talent across all of our platforms to provide a unique perspective for sports fans.”
The live block of shows will focus on the sports world’s most relevant topics each night and will include NBC Sports Group talent who will not only report on sports news, but will break down the significance of that news for viewers. Mondays (ProFootballTalk with Mike Florio) and Fridays at 6 p.m. will be devoted to football, while the rest of the shows during the week will focus on the most topical sports stories.
NBC SportsTalk will be hosted by former Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic anchor Russ Thaler. He will be joined by talent from across all NBC Sports Group platforms, including Peter King of Sports Illustrated and Football Night in America and Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk on NBCSports.com for the special NFL-themed show on Friday nights.
CNBC Sports Biz: Game On – Rovell’s sports business show on Friday nights will focus on the $200 billion business of professional sports, including ownership, labor, media, sponsorship, marketing, merchandise, facilities and executives. The 30-minute show will feature segments such as: “Power Player,” where Rovell interviews sports business newsmakers; “The Scoreboard,” in which Rovell and his sideline reporter, Erin Sharoni, review the sports business winners and losers of the week; “Heavy Hitters,” in which Rovell calls up insiders to break down how one aspect of the business works. Rovell’s more than 115,000 Twitter followers will also play an active role in the show.
NBC SportsTalk – The 6 p.m. nightly shows will focus on various topics throughout the week with certain nights and times devoted to a single sport:
- MONDAY: Immediately following VERSUS’ newly announced College Football Talk show from 5-6 p.m. ET, the network begins the week with ProFootballTalk with Mike Florio. One of the NFL’s most influential voices, Florio will join Thaler in the studio for the hour to break down all the football news from the weekend. Once the NHL season begins, NBC SportsTalk will air from 6-6:30 p.m. ET, making way for NHL Live, the new half-hour pre-game show which begins at 6:30 p.m. ET.
- TUESDAY-THURSDAY: On Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday nights, NBC SportsTalk will break down the topics that are dominating the sports world and will enlist talent from all NBC Sports Group platforms to join Thaler, including commentators and reporters from NBC Sports, NBCSports.com, VERSUS, Golf Channel and NBC Sports Group’s 11 regional sports networks. On select Wednesday nights throughout the NHL season, the second half of the show will be dedicated solely to hockey.
- FRIDAY: NBC SportsTalk will wrap up the week with in-depth coverage of NFL news and will welcome one of sports’ most knowledgeable and respected NFL insiders, Peter King of Sports Illustrated and “Football Night in America,” to join Florio and Thaler. Additionally, Gregg Rosenthal of Rotoworld and ProFootballTalk on NBCSports.com will contribute a fantasy segment each Friday.
NEW VERSUS ORIGINAL PROGRAMMING THIS FALL (all times ET):
Monday, 5-6 p.m.: College Football Talk hosted by Liam McHugh with Ross Tucker and Roland Williams
Monday, 6-7 p.m.: NBC SportsTalk/ProFootballTalk with Mike Florio (6-6:30 p.m. beginning October 10)
Monday, 6:30-7 p.m.: NHL Live (beginning October 10)
Tuesday, 6-7 p.m.: NBC SportsTalk hosted by Russ Thaler
Wednesday, 6-7 p.m.: NBC SportsTalk hosted by Russ Thaler
Thursday, 6-7 p.m.: NBC SportsTalk hosted by Russ Thaler
Thursday, 10-11 p.m.: NFL Turning Point
Friday, 6-7 p.m.: NBC SportsTalk hosted by Russ Thaler with Mike Florio and Peter King
Friday, 7-7:30 p.m.: CNBC Sports Biz: Game On hosted by Darren Rovell
There you have it.
