Last month, Sports Business Journal reported about the demise of Universal Sports, the Olympic sports channel that had difficulty gaining traction in the cable/satellite universe. While it was on DirecTV’s sports tier, it was aired in old school standard definition. It was a channel that was hardly a destination for sports fans despite having a heavy slate of world championships this year (swimming, track & field, rugby).
Today is the day that Universal Sports ceases operation. Its portfolio of rights including the FIS Alpine Skiing World Cup, the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating, the IAAF Athletics World Championships and the Boston Marathon will be picked up by NBCUniversal and be aired mostly on Universal HD which is not to be confused with Universal Sports.
Universal Sports was owned by InterMedia Partners, but NBC had a minority stake. Last month, it was announced that the network would shut down and its signal would be taken off line as of November 16.
A majority of events will be aired on Universal HD (Channel 569 on DirecTV) with others being streamed on the NBC Sports Live Extra app. NBCSN will air some of the events formerly carried by Universal Sports. Here’s the listing beginning November 20 through February 28, 2016.
And here’s the official announcement from NBCUniversal:
NBCUNIVERSAL ACQUIRES UNIVERSAL SPORTS PROGRAMMING FROM WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP SPORTS NETWORK
Programming to Join NBC Sports Group Portfolio
NEW YORK – November 16, 2015 – NBCUniversal has acquired Universal Sports Network assets from World Championship Sports Network, effective immediately, as part of an agreement that was announced today by all parties. Financial terms were not disclosed.
The wide array of exclusive media rights that were formerly held by Universal Sports, including agreements with international and national governing bodies for Olympic-sport events in swimming, track and field, gymnastics, figure skating, skiing, cycling, triathlon, volleyball, and more, will now join the NBC Sports Group portfolio.
NBC Sports Group will utilize NBCUniversal’s family of networks, including NBCSN and Universal HD, to televise events. NBC Sports Live Extra — NBC Sports’ live streaming product for desktops, mobile devices, tablets, and connected TVs — will live stream events, including some digital-only programming. Universal Sports Network will cease operations today.
“Acquiring these valuable media rights builds on our long-term investment in the Olympic Games through 2032, and reaffirms our commitment to Olympic sports and the stories of the great athletes who compete in them,” said Gary Zenkel, President, NBC Olympics, a division of NBC Sports Group. “We now have a great opportunity to engage with the Olympic-sport audience year round and inspire the next generation of Olympic fans, which is a critical part of our ongoing Olympic strategy.”
Upcoming major events that NBC Sports will televise and stream include: the FIS Alpine World Cup season; the USA Swimming Arena Pro Swim Series; the IAAF World Indoor Championships; and the 2016 Boston Marathon.
Universal Sports began operation in 2006 as the World Championship Sports Network quickly picking up contracts with various Olympic sports governing bodies. It was an online channel, but then turned to broadcast television as a digital subchannel. It later rebranded to Universal Sports in 2008 when NBC purchased a minority stake and was a digital subchannel on all of NBC’s owned-and-operated stations in major markets.
But in 2011, it transitioned to a full-time cable and satellite channel with a pick up from DirecTV and other providers. Eventually, Universal Sports had trouble in gaining contracts with providers and remained on sports tiers on the ones where it remained.
But now with Universal Sports ceasing operation, the Olympic sports will now gain a larger audience.
