This weekend is a big weekend for rugby fans. First, BBC America is airing the Seven Nations Rugby tournament on Saturday. And also on Saturday as well as Sunday, NBC and Universal Sports are teaming up to show the USA Sevens Rugby Tournament live from Las Vegas. NBC is airing this because rugby sevens will be an Olympic sport staring in 2016 in Rio de Janeiro. This is a chance for viewers to become familiar with the sport which is a shorter form of a regular rugby match in both teams and time limits. This will mark the first time the USA Sevens Rugby Tournament will be aired on network TV in America.
This is the joint release from NBC Sports and Universal Sports.
NBC Sports and Universal Sports Present More Than 15 Hours of LIVE Coverage of the USA Sevens from Las Vegas
Marks the First Time Ever This Event Will be Aired Live on U.S. Network Television
NEW YORK – February 9, 2011 – NBC Sports and Universal Sports will present more than 15 hours of live coverage of the USA Sevens Rugby from Sam Boyd Stadium in Las Vegas, Nev., this Saturday and Sunday. This marks the first time ever that this event will be aired live on U.S. network television.
NBC Sports will have two broadcasts throughout the weekend with four hours of live coverage, including the Cup final (Sunday 4:30 p.m. ET). Calling the action will be Terry Gannon (play-by-play), Dave Sitton, who has played, coached and broadcast rugby for more than 30 years (analyst) and Marty Snider (reporter). Rob Hyland, who serves as NBC Sports’ lead producer for collegiate sevens rugby and Notre Dame football, will produce the world feed broadcast reaching out to over 140 different countries, with NBC Sports veteran producer David Gibson producing the NBC Sports and Universal Sports broadcasts.
Universal Sports will kick-off Saturday’s broadcast at 2:00 p.m. ET and feature 11 hours of live coverage for the weekend, including the Cup Semi-finals (Sunday 2-4:30 p.m. ET) and the Shield, Bowl and Plate finals (Sunday 6-8 p.m. ET). Universal Sports will have a studio show that will be hosted by Fred Roggin and Bill Seward. Universalsports.com will stream the entire event live on a subscription basis along with replays, highlights and analysis. All of this content is available on-demand by visiting universalsports.com/rugby.
USA Sevens International Rugby Championship Broadcast Schedule(All times LIVE)
Saturday, February 12
NBC Sports Broadcast Schedule
3:30 PM – 6:00 PM ET
Featured Games: England vs. France, USA vs. Samoa and New Zealand vs. KenyaUniversal Sports Broadcast Schedule
2:00 PM – 3:30 PM ET
6:00 PM – 8:00 PM ET
9:30 PM – 1:00 AM ET
Featured Games: South Africa vs. USA, Australia vs. Scotland and Cup QuarterfinalsSunday, February 13
NBC Sports Broadcast Schedule
4:30 PM – 6:00 PM ET
Featured Game: Cup Final, teams TBDUniversal Sports Broadcast Schedule
2:00 PM – 3:30 PM ET
6:00 PM – 8:00 PM ET
Featured Games: Cup Semi-Final; Shield, Bowl and Plate FinalRugby Sevens features seven players per team playing on the same size pitch as a 15’s match and offers non-stop action where speed, high scoring and athleticism dominate the competition. The format allows for constant entertainment with each match split into two seven-minute halves and a new match starting about every 20 minutes. Rugby Sevens will be an Olympic sport starting in 2016.
NBC Sports and Universal Sports will continue their coverage of rugby throughout the year. The networks will serve as the exclusive U.S. television home of the 2011 Rugby World Cup this fall in New Zealand and will also televise the 2011 Rugby Sevens Collegiate Championship this June in Philadelphia.
That will end the blogging until the morning.
