With the ushering in of the the new year came the demise of several cable networks which ceased operations by January 1.

NBC Sports pulled the plug on its national sports network NBCSN, nearly a decade after being rebranded from the former Versus network. The network had served as the outlet for NBC Sports Premier League Soccer and NASCAR auto racing programming – all of which will now shift to USA Network and NBCU’s streaming service Peacock, according to network officials. 

Year's end often brings at least temporary outages of channels as carriage agreements expire. In other cases, disputes get settled, as was the case with Mediacom's cable operations and Paxton Media's NBC-affiliated TV station in Paducah, Kentucky. 

Originally launched as the Outdoor Life Network in 1995 and later renamed Versus in 2006, NBCSN was also the home of NBC Sports’ National Hockey League coverage before losing league TV rights to ESPN/TNT in 2021. 

 “We are excited to transition the cable coverage of many of our premium sports events to USA Network, Peacock, and other widely-distributed NBCUniversal platforms, which will give us a significant boost in television homes and will put us in an even stronger position as we grow our business,” said NBC Sports chairman Pete Bevacqua in a statement.

Another national sports network, ESPN Classic, closed its doors on Jan. 1. The service, originally launched in 1995 by Brian Bedol and Steve Greenberg as Classic Sports Network, was purchased by ESPN in 1997 and featured replays of vintage sports events and some live programming. The network in recent years had lost carriage to other ESPN-owned sports services before being decommissioned on Saturday.

Univision on December 31 also ceased operations for its English-language cable news and lifestyle network Fusion TV. The Spanish-language network launched Fusion TV in 2013 in an effort to reach young, Hispanic viewers.

Univision pulled the plug on Fusion TV to turn its focus toward serving Spanish-language audiences, according to Forbes. 

In a statement Univision said: “As a company and a brand, Univision is committed to serving Spanish-language audiences, currently in the U.S. and soon globally with the launch of our streaming service in 2022. To continue delivering on that mission, our sole focus will be on this growing audience – currently nearly 600 million strong – and, to that end, we ceased operations of English-language network, Fusion TV on December 31, 2021. With this renewed direction under our new leadership, Univision is doubling down on its focus and strategic investments to fill the need for in-language and in-culture content for Spanish-speaking audiences around the world.”■

The list of high-profile TV sports events for the first weekend in December begins on the gridiron as college football enters its conference championship weekend with several top ranked teams battling for College Football Playoff positions.

Top-ranked Georgia will face third-ranked Alabama in the SEC Championship game on CBS, while second-ranked Michigan will face No. 13 Iowa on Fox. Fourth-ranked Cincinnati will face No. 21 Houston in the ACC Championship Game on ABC, while fifth-ranked Oklahoma State will battle ninth-ranked Baylor in the Big 12 Championship game on ABC. 

NBCSN, USA and NBC will continue its coverage of the Premier League with live game coverage on Saturday and Sunday. ABC will offer Major League Soccer doubleheader action on Sunday. 

ESPN on Sunday will televise the Formula One Saudi Arabian Grand Prix race, while NBC will televise the final round of the PGA Hero World Challenge golf event.

On the combat sports front, DAZN on Saturday will stream the WBC lightweight championship fight between champion Devin Haney and top contender Joseph Diaz Jr. from Los Angeles. Showtime on Sunday offers a pay-per-view fight pitting WBA lightweight champion Gervonta Davis against Issac Cruz. 

ESPN on Saturday will air a UFC Fight Night Bantamweight title bout between Rob Font and Jose Aldo. 

NBC’s Sunday Night Football telecast will feature an AFC West matchup between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Denver Broncos. 

The Thanksgiving weekend lineup of live TV sports events starts Saturday on the gridiron as week 13 of the college football season features several high-profile games among NCAA-ranked teams, highlighted by second-ranked Ohio State against fifth-ranked Michigan on Fox. 

Other games featuring top 10-ranked teams include top-ranked Georgia against Georgia Tech on ABC, third-ranked Alabama against Auburn (CBS), sixth-ranked Notre Dame at Stanford (Fox), seventh-ranked Oklahoma State against 10th-ranked Oklahoma (ABC), and eighth-ranked Baylor and Texas Tech (FS1).

Week 12 of the NFL season features regional coverage on Fox and CBS, followed by an NBC Sunday Night Football contest between the Cleveland Browns and Baltimore Ravens. Also on Sunday, ESPN2 and ESPNews will feature live coverage of Canadian Football League playoffs games.

In the ring Showtime will televise the super bantamweight fight between champion Brandon Figueroa and Stephen Fulton Jr. 

NBCSN, USA Network and NBC will offer live Premier League soccer games on Saturday, while ABC and ESPN will offer Major League Soccer coverage on Sunday over the weekend. ■ 

This weekend’s TV sports lineup steps into the squared ring as ESPN Plus distributes its first major pay-per-view boxing event exclusively. Saturday's Terence Crawford-Shawn Porter welterweight championship fight will steam on the digital service only for a suggested retail price of $69.99. ESPN2 will feature live fights from the undercard of the PPV event. 

ESPN Plus will also feature a live UFC Fight Night event featuring a women’s bantamweight main event bout between Ketlen Vieira and Miesha Tate.  

Week 12 of the college football season finds all NCAA top 10-ranked teams in action on Saturday. Top ranked Georgia battles Charleston Southern on ESPN Plus, while second-ranked Alabama hosts No. 21 Arkansas on CBS. ABC televises games featuring third-ranked Oregon against No. 23 Utah and fourth-ranked Ohio State versus seventh-ranked Michigan State.

The remaining schedule includes No. 5 Cincinnati-SMU (ESPN), No. 6 Michigan-Maryland (Big Ten Network), No. 8 Notre Dame-Georgia Tech (NBC), No. 9 Oklahoma State-Texas Tech (Fox) and No 10 Wake Forest-Clemson (ESPN). 

NBCU -- fresh off its new six-year carriage deal with the English Premier League -- will offer live game coverage from the league Saturday on NBCSN, USA Network and NBC, as well as NBCSN on Sunday. ABC and ESPN will air live MLS action Sunday afternoon. 

Weekend 11 of the NFL season begins with regional action on Fox and CBS, and ends with NBC’s Sunday Night Football contest between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Los Angeles Chargers. 

Golf Channel and NBC will offer live weekend coverage of the LGPA Tour Championship, while ESPN will offer Sunday morning coverage of the Formula One Qatar Grand Prix auto race. 

NBCUniversal will remain the home for the English Premier League soccer games as part of a new six-year television deal announced Thursday. 

The agreement calls for NBC Sports to remain the Premier League’s official broadcast partner through 2028. NBC Sports, which has aired Premier League games in the U.S. since 2012, will telecast all 380 matches each year across such networks as NBC, USA Network and Peacock, as well as Spanish-language rights for Telemundo Deportes, according to NBC Sports.  

“We are excited to come to this long-term extension with the Premier League,” said  NBC Sports Chairman Pete Bevacqua in a statement. “Our Premier League team, led by Jon Miller, has been incredibly dedicated to growing the Premier League in the United States over the last nine years. This new agreement is also a testament to the hard work of production, marketing and other areas of our company, as well as the tremendous partnership that has been established with the leadership and club owners of the Premier League.”

Added Premier League Chief Executive Richard Masters: “We are delighted to announce our new US broadcast deal with NBC Sports, who have been brilliant partners for the Premier League over the last nine seasons. NBC Sports has significantly strengthened the popularity of the League in the United States in that time through its fantastic coverage and promotion.”

The deal comes as NBC Sports plans to shut down its NBCSN national sports network -- which has carried a significant amount of Premier Soccer games over the years -- at the end of 2021. Much of that inventory is expected to move to USA Network as well as NBCU streaming service Peacock. Miller and Bevacqua said in a Thursday afternoon press conference that Premier League games will maintain a strong presence on the linear platform as well as on the streaming service. ■ 

Also: NBCU Pushes More Sports Programming onto USA Network

NBCUniversal said several of its NBC Sports franchises will be finding new homes on cable on USA Network in 2022, including Premier League soccer, NASCAR and IndyCar races.

The shift comes as the company shuts down the NBCSN cable network at the end of the year. Some sports programming will also be appearing on CNBC and Peacock.

“We are excited to transition the cable coverage of many of our premium sports events to USA Network, Peacock, and other widely-distributed NBCUniversal platforms, which will give us a significant boost in television homes and will put us in an even stronger position as we grow our business,” said Pete Bevacqua, chairman, NBC Sports.

Sports coverage on USA in 2022 will kick off with a Premier League triple-header starting at 7 a.m. on New Year’s Day.

NBCU said that during the Tokyo Olympics, USA Network was the top sports and entertainment network in primetime, averaging 1.6 million viewers. USA had live coverage of track and field, beach volleyball, indoor volleyball and softball. 

In September, USA hosted the most-watched Premier League game with the return of Cristiano Ronaldo as Manchester United took on Newcastle.

The list of sports that will appear on USA in 2022 also includes Atlantic 10 basketball, horse racing, Olympic sports, golf and the Tour de France.

“We expect this expansion of our live sports offering will both engage existing fans and bring in new communities to USA, further cementing the network as a top destination for the best and broadest entertainment in all of its many forms," said Frances Berwick, chairman, Entertainment Networks, NBCUniversal Television & Streaming, in a release.

Beginning Jan. 1, 2022, NBCSN will display a slate to inform viewers about tune-in information. NBC Sports will also mount a marketing effort within telecasts to let fans know where to watch the sports they want to see.

NBCU’s Peacock will be streaming Sunday Night Football and the Super Bowl, all Notre Dame football home games, Premier League, NASCAR and Olympic competition. 

Peacock streamed Stanley Cup Final games last season before NBCU gave up rights to NHL hockey this season to ESPN and Turner Sports.

The TV sports lineup for the third weekend in October starts on the baseball diamond with Major League Baseball's American League and National League Championship Series. 

On Saturday, Fox will televise Game two of the Boston Red Sox-Houston Astros ALCS, after the Astros won the first game of the series Friday night. TBS on Saturday night will air Game one of the Los Angeles Dodgers-Atlanta Braves NLCS series as well as Game two on Sunday night.

The NHL heads into its first weekend of regular season action with the NHL Network's Saturday doubleheader coverage and Sunday game telecast between Dallas and Ottawa.

NBC on Saturday will head to the race track to air live coverage of the NASCAR Xfinity Series’ Andy’s Frozen Custard 335 Race from Texas as well as on Sunday for live coverage of the NASCAR Cup Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 500 race.

USA Network and NBC will offer Premier League soccer coverage on Saturday, while NBCSN offers live game coverage on Saturday and Sunday. ESPN on Sunday will feature a Major League Soccer matchup between NYCFC and the NY Red Bulls. 

Week seven of the college football season features six of the top 10-ranked teams, including the new top-ranked team in Georgia, who travels to play No. 11 Kentucky in a game airing on CBS. Other games include No. 2 Iowa-Purdue (ABC), No. 3 Cincinnati-UCF (ABC), No. 4 Oklahoma-TCU (ABC), No. 5 Alabama-Mississippi State (ESPN), and No. 10 Michigan State-Indiana (FS1).

In the NFL, week six features a Sunday morning, London-based game between the Miami Dolphins and the winless Jacksonville Jaguars on CBS, followed by regional afternoon action on CBS and Fox. NBC’s Sunday Night Football game features the Seattle Seahawks against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

This weekend’s list of live TV sports events starts on the baseball field with ABC's Saturday coverage of the Little League World Series semifinals between Ohio and South Dakota and Michigan and Hawaii. ESPN on Sunday will air the World Series Championship as well as the third place game.

ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball telecast will feature the New York Yankees against the Oakland A's.

In other sports, NBC and NBCSN will offer weekend coverage of the Paralympics events from Tokyo. NBC will also team with Golf Channel to offer weekend coverage of the PGA BMW Championship golf event. 

The 2021 college football season kicks off with several contests on Saturday, highlighted by the Nebraska-Illinois afternoon game on Fox. ESPN will televise the Hawaii-UCLA game while CBSSN offers coverage of the UConn-Fresno State contest.

NBC on Saturday will televise the NASCAR Cup Coke Zero Sugar 400 auto race, while ESPN on Sunday will televise the Formula One Belgian Grand Prix event. 

On the soccer field NBC and CNBC will offer live Saturday Premier League soccer game telecasts, while NBCSN will feature Saturday and Sunday morning league games. Fox will lead the weekend's MLS coverage with the LA Galaxy-LAFC contest, with FS1 and ESPN offering Sunday morning league coverage.

The NFL pre-season ends this weekend with several Sunday national broadcast TV airings including CBS' Miami-Cincinnati game and NBC's Cleveland-Atlanta contest.

Showtime on Sunday will distribute a pay-per-view boxing match between YouTube sensation Jake Paul and former mixed martial arts world champion Tyron Woodley. On Saturday, ESPN will televise a live UFC Fight Night card featuring the Edson Barboza-Giga Chikadze featherweight main event fight. 

NBCUniversal’s Summer Olympics coverage from Tokyo highlights this weekend’s live TV sports lineup with coverage of live volleyball, baseball, boxing, basketball and track and field events on NBC, NBCN, Golf Channel, Peacock and USA Network. A complete listing of weekend events can be found here.

Read Also: NBC Again Gives the Tokyo Summer Olympics TV's Biggest Promo Push 

Fox will step into the boxing ring Saturday night with primetime PBC Fight Night coverage featuring a heavyweight main event clash between Michael Coffie and Jonathan Rice, while ESPN enters the octagon with a Saturday primetime UFC Fight Night card featuring middleweights Uriah Hall and Sean Strickland.

ESPN will offer Sunday coverage of the Formula One Hungarian Grand Prix auto race, while Fox on Sunday will provide live drag racing coverage of the NHRA Lucas Oil Winternationals. 

Also on Sunday, CBS will feature live coverage of the Major League Rugby championship match between Rugby ATL and LA Giltinis and ESPN will telecast semifinal action of The Basketball Tournament. 

ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball game will feature an American League East divisional matchup between the Boston Red Sox and the Tampa Bay Rays.

Read Also: Newest NHL Teams to Face Off as ESPN Returns to Hockey

Summer Olympics action begins July 20 with softball. Host Japan faces off against Australia at 8 p.m. ET on NBCSN. Japan’s women’s team won the gold in 2008. The U.S. plays Italy in softball at 11 p.m. ET July 20, with NBCSN airing the action. The Americans are looking for their fourth Olympic gold medal in the sport. 

July 23 is listed as the start date for the Summer Olympics, but the action actually begins July 20. The Opening Ceremony happens in Tokyo Friday, July 23. NBC airs the gala. 

The U.S. women’s soccer team faces Sweden July 21 live at 4:30 a.m. ET on USA Network. The U.S. squad won the Olympic gold in 1996, 2004, 2008 and 2012. There are 11 players from the 2016 team, including Alex Morgan, Megan Rapinoe and Carli Lloyd.

Germany won the gold medal in women’s soccer in 2016. 

USA also has Australia versus New Zealand in women’s soccer, live July 21 at 7:30 a.m. July 21 action on NBCSN includes China versus Brazil and Japan versus Canada in women’s soccer, while Olympic Channel will have Great Britain versus Chile in women’s soccer.

In men’s soccer, Brazil and Germany face off July 22. USA has the match live at 7:30 a.m. ET. Brazil holds the gold from 2016, beating Germany in the final.  

USA also has Mexico versus France in men’s soccer that day, and Egypt versus Spain.

All Tokyo Olympics coverage will be streamed live on www.nbcolympics.com and the NBC Sports app.

Peacock, NBCUniversal’s streaming service, said it will carry all of the remaining Stanley Cup semifinal games, starting Monday.

Coverage of the games will be available on Peacock Premium, a step up from the free version of the service.

NBC Sports will also be televising the National Hockey League playoff games on cable networks NBCSN or USA Network. They will also appear on NBC Sports digital platforms.

Rights to NHL games will be shifting from NBCU properties to Disney’s ESPN and Turner Sports under a new deal reached in March. 

On Monday, Peacock coverage will begin with the NHL Live pregame show at 8:30 p.m. ET. After the game it will have the NHL Overtime post-game coverage.

Sports have been moving to streaming, with the new NFL deals signed by NBCUniversal and other TV rights holders including the ability to put games on their emerging direct-to-consumer platforms.

This weekend’s focus on live TV sports events tips off on the basketball court as the NBA continues its second round playoff games with a Saturday telecast on ABC (Utah Jazz-L.A. Clippers) and two telecasts on Sunday (ABC’s Brooklyn Nets-Milwaukee Bucks and TNT’s Phoenix Suns-Denver Nuggets.)   

On the ice, NBC Sunday will telecast Game 1 of the New York Islanders-Tampa Bay Lightning NHL Conference Finals series while continuing its Olympics trials coverage  Saturday with a primetime telecast of the diving competition. 

Fox will offer Saturday night baseball coverage between the Houston Astros and the Minnesota Twins, while ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball telecast will feature the St. Louis Cardinals and Chicago Cubs. 

ESPN Plus will distribute Saturday’s UFC 263 pay-per-view fight card headed by the Israel Adesanya-Marvin Vettori middleweight championship rematch fight. ESPN will also step into the boxing ring Saturday with primetime coverage of the super featherweight fight between Shakur Stevenson and Jeremiah Nakathila.

NBC will offer Saturday morning coverage of the French Open tennis tournament’s women’s finals match as well as Sunday morning action from the men’s finals match. 

TNT earned its second straight primetime cable ratings win last week on the strength of its NBA playoffs coverage, according to Nielsen. 

TNT averaged 2.4 million viewers for the week of May 31 to June 6 to top Fox News’s 1.9 million viewers, said Nielsen. The network was paced by its coverage of the June 3 Phoenix Suns-Los Angeles Lakers Game Six playoffs telecast, which generated 4.5 million viewers, according to Nielsen.

MSNBC and HGTV tied for third with 1.2 million viewers, followed by ESPN with 1 million watchers. TBS (935,000), NBCSN (912,000), Hallmark Channel (816,000), TLC (807,000) and Discovery Channel (790,000) rounded out the top 10 most watched cable networks in primetime.

Fox News earned its 16th consecutive win in total day, averaging 1.1 million viewers, followed by TNT (802,000), MSNBC (751,000), HGTV (658,000) and CNN and ESPN (tied with 554,000), according to Nielsen. 

The first weekend of June will feature a stellar lineup of live sports events from boxing to NBA and NHL playoff games. 

Sunday will feature the return of boxer Floyd Mayweather to the pay-per-view ring in an exhibition fight against YouTube star Logan Paul. The Showtime-distributed PPV fight will retail at a suggested price of $49.99, according to industry sources. 

The second round of the NBA Playoffs will tip off on Saturday with the first game of the Milwaukee Bucks-Brooklyn Nets series on TNT. On Sunday, ABC will air the first game of the Atlanta Hawks-Philadelphia 76’ers matchup as well as game 7 of the first-round matchup between the Dallas Mavericks and the L.A. Clippers. 

Also Read: PPV Boxing's Summer Bonanza

USA Network on Saturday will air second round coverage of the Carolina Hurricanes-Tampa Bay Lightning series while NBC airs game four of the Boston Bruins-New York Islanders series. NBCSN will offer Sunday coverage of the Winnipeg Jets-Montreal Canadiens game three matchup as well as game four of the Colorado Avalanche-Vegas Golden Knights series.

In other TV sports events, ESPN will air weekend coverage of the college softball world series as well as Sunday Night Baseball coverage of the Boston Red Sox-New York Yankees game.

Also Read: Weekly Cable Ratings: TNT Wins in Primetime 

CBS and Golf Channel will offer weekend coverage of the PGA Tour Memorial Tournament, while NBC will air final round coverage of the US Women’s Open.   

This weekend's live TV sports telecasts tip off Saturday with a full slate of NBA playoffs games tipping off on ESPN and ABC. ESPN will televise the Miami Heat-Milwaukee Bucks, Dallas Mavericks-LA Clippers and Portland Trail Blazers-Denver Nuggets games, while ABC airs the Boston Celtics-Brooklyn Nets game in primetime.

NBA first round playoffs coverage continues on Sunday, with TNT airing the Washington Wizards-Philadelphia 76’ers and the Atlanta Hawks-New York Knicks contests, while ABC televises the Los Angeles Lakers-Phoenix Suns game.

Major League Soccer games will air Saturday on ABC (LA Galaxy at Portland) and Sunday on Fox (Atlanta at Seattle) and FS1 (Austin at Nashville SC), while Premier League soccer games will air Sunday on NBC, USA Network and NBCSN. 

Also Read: NBA Launches 'That Game' Campaign During Playoffs

ESPN and CBS will feature weekend coverage of the prestigious PGA Championship golf tournament. The tournament is the second of golf's four major championship events. 

NBC will continue its coverage of the NHL Playoffs with a Saturday doubleheader featuring the Pittsburgh Penguins-NY Islanders and Vegas Golden Knights-Minnesota Wild games. 

NBC will take to the track on Sunday with coverage of the USATF: Boost Boston Games track and field event. On the auto racing front, NBC and NBCSN on Saturday will telecast Indianapolis 500 qualifying races.

Also Read: Bellator's Scott Coker Looks to Strike A Blow with Showtime Deal

ESPN will offer ring action Saturday night with a fight card headlined by the Jose Ramirez-Josh Taylor undisputed junior welterweight championship fight. Also on Saturday, Showtime will offer the Bellator MMA 259 fight card featuring the Chris Cyborg-Leslie Smith featherweight championship rematch. 

ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball contest features the Oakland A’s against the Los Angeles Angels.  

No sooner did Sinclair Broadcast Group tell analysts that yes, indeed, it does plan to offer direct-to-consumer versions of its 19 regional sports networks next year, than Comcast’s NBCUniversal possibly stole its thunder, with reports that the media giant is looking to shift its RSNs to its Peacock streaming service, or even sell them off.

Sinclair reiterated Wednesday that it would launch a DTC service for its Bally Sports Networks next year -- it had originally expected to launch it this year but back in February said the debut would be moved to 2022. Yesterday was more like a reassurance that plans to go the DTC route were still on, with Sinclair CEO Chris Ripley talking about a vast untapped market for streaming sports. The news comes as Sinclair is still hoping to gain carriage for the channels on YouTube TV, Hulu Plus Live TV, Fubo TV and Dish Network.

That NBCU was considering a DTC future for its sports networks first appeared in the Wall Street Journal. But it shouldn't come as a shock. Earlier this year NBCU said it would shutter its NBCSN sports channel, and shift programming to Peacock and USA Network. This seems to be a logical extension of that plan.

Also Read: One Month Later, Still No Streaming Deal for Sinclair RSNs 

While NBCU is also considering selling its seven RSNs to the teams whose games they carry, that could be difficult. Except for the New York Yankees, which bought a majority interest in its YES Network from Fox in 2019, teams haven’t been big players in recent RSN auctions. 

According to the Journal, NBCU considered testing the idea of streaming its RSNs earlier this year, with NBC Sports Philadelphia, the hometown of parent Comcast. But it scrapped the idea for two reasons -- pricing and customer confusion. The paper said that NBC executives balked because the service would have to be priced differently in markets where there were RSNs. That, they feared, would confuse the service’s marketing efforts. 

Also Read: Sports and OTT Streaming Could Squeeze the last Vestige of Appointment TV 

NBCU and Sinclair aren’t the only RSN owners that are considering direct-to-consumer offerings. As traditional pay TV bleeds subscribers at a steady rate, pretty much every network is considering going off on its own. 

Every network has an app in one form or another -- Sinclair launched its Bally Sports  app in April -- though at the moment they are all authenticated, meaning that to watch actual games via streaming viewers have to have a traditional pay TV package. But that could be easily solved. What’s harder to figure out is how a true DTC app would be priced. Some pundits believe that a standalone streaming RSN could be priced as high as $30 per month.  

At that price, plus the cost of a standalone broadband service ($80) and a monthly Netflix ($15) and Amazon Prime ($13) subscription, a typical cord-cutting sports fan would be paying about as much as their pay TV counterparts with 100-plus video channels. 

There also is a wide range of numbers delineating the size of the potential markets for the channels. On its conference call with analysts, Sinclair said it had 52 million subscribers to its 19 RSNs last year, of which 35 million were unique households. 

Also Read: RSNs Scramble for Streaming Deals as Opening Day Approaches 

“The 35 million households represents less than half of the total subscribers possible in the RSN teams' geographic territories, meaning the total number of addressable subscribers under the D2C model is theoretically more than double,” Ripley said on the call. 

Now, that is making a couple of pretty big assumptions. One: there are another 35 million homes out there that really want to watch games but don’t because they think their local RSN costs too much. Two: there is something that will make most of them either get a subscription to a pay TV service that has the RSNs -- meaning they would have to pay even more -- or they would pay for an app that would allow them to watch the games. Three: The app would be priced at a level that would give the buyer the sense that he or she is getting a bargain, the distributor the sense that they weren’t paying too much for the linear channel; and Sinclair the sense that it was receiving the proper remuneration for its content. That’s a lot to consider. 

Also Read: Live Sports Events Are Moving to Streaming 

Analysts have been saying for years that probably only 30% of pay TV customers watch sports. And of the non-pay TV customers that consider themselves sports fans, about 8% say they would definitely buy a streaming sports service, according to a 2020 Verizon Media survey. 

But at the same time, RSNs are faced with a double dilemma: a rapidly deciding traditional pay TV customer base and virtual MVPDs like YouTube TV and Hulu that are trying to gauge whether they can do without them. The next few months are going to be crucial for RSNs -- baseball fans don’t usually get ultra serious about their teams until after the July All-Star break. If the vMVPDs don’t see a notable loss in subscribers during that period tied to not carrying the RSNs, that could embolden them to drop the channels altogether. 

If that happens, it could influence the next cycle of traditional MVPD carriage deals, where operators could decide to either do without the channels totally or pay a lot less for them. 

“That’s why from an RSN standpoint, you have to be able to say you’re going direct-to-consumer,” sports consultant Lee Berke, CEO  LHB Media & Entertainment, said. “There is a reckoning that’s going to come to pass and it's coming to pass for every network. You're seeing the strategies being laid out with all the streamers, how they’re laying out programming, how they're categorizing it, how they’re pricing it, how they’re producing content, sports, entertainment and news. When it comes to the RSNs in particular, they are going to have to move in the next few years. And they have to start preparing for it now.”  

Berke has been a big proponent of direct-to-consumer offerings for RSNs, but he sees them as a complement to the existing relationship with pay TV distributors, not a replacement. At least not yet.

According to some analysts, pay TV lost about 13 million subscribers in the past two years, ending 2020 at 76.8 million customers, not including vMVPDs, down from 89 million in 2018. It’s expected to get worse in 2021-2022.

“The crunch time is happening for the RSNs sooner rather than later,” Berke said. “It’s imperative that they make these changes and offer themselves up on as many different platforms as possible, which I realize necessitates tough conversations and revamping the agreements, but the time has come.”

One factor that could help offset the cost of standalone streaming RSNs is gambling. On the Sinclair conference call, Ripley mentioned the “gamification” of the app, a polite way to say they are going to eventually make it really easy to gamble on practically anything to do with the game you’re watching. That’s been the elephant in the room ever since the U.S. Supreme Court scrapped the federal law that prohibited states from allowing sports gambling and decided to leave it up to individual states to make sports betting legal. Networks and leagues and casinos have been waiting patiently for the flood gates to open. 

According to the American Gaming Association, about 21 states and Washington D.C., have live, legal sports betting, meaning that single-game sports betting is legally offered to consumers through retail and/or online sportsbooks. Six states are classified as “Legal – Not Yet Operational” meaning they have sports betting, but haven’t launched yet, and 13 states are “Active or Pre-Filed Legislation” meaning that bills to legalize single-game sports betting have been introduced or a voter referendum has been scheduled. The prevailing wisdom is that 30 states will have live, legal sports betting by the end of this year.  

Maybe gambling will soften the blow for sports channels, especially if they get a cut of every wager that is made through the remote, but it is a very slippery slope. Currently federal law prohibits the exchange of gambling funds across state lines. But if that law -- The Wire Act -- was repealed, it could open up whole new avenues of revenue. 

While gambling in many forms has been associated with football and basketball for years, in-game betting to some pundits is where the real opportunity lies. Also called prop betting, it means that wagers can be placed on any number of scenarios that happen during a game, outside of the final score. Baseball, which averages about 170,000 at-bats and 950,000 pitches thrown during the regular season, by some estimates, is seen by some as a huge potential gambling opportunity. But it will still be dwarfed by the amount of money spent by traditional distributors for the networks. 

“Sports betting alone is not going to take the place of affiliate revenue,” Berke said.” It could be very valuable, but your affiliate revenues for most any sports network are still going to be the most valuable stream you have. What you’ve got to do is figure out the way to distribute that network in the midst of people changing how they consume content.”

NASCAR America Motormouths is moving exclusively to Peacock from NBCSN, starting Monday.

NBCU said in January that NBCSN will be shutting down by the end of the year. Sports programming was expected to migrate to Peacock and USA Network.

NASCAR America Motormouths will stream Monday and Wednesday at p.m. on Peacock and features Kyle Petty, Dale Jarrett, Jeff Burton and Steve Letarte as primary contributors.

The show will be available on Peacock’s free tier on the NBC Sports Channel on the streaming service.

“We’re proud to expand Peacock’s sports talk lineup with Kyle Petty, Jeff Burton, Dale Jarrett, and Steve Letarte,” said Rick Cordella, executive VP and chief revenue officer, Peacock. “As we continue to expand sports programming, Motormouths is a great addition to the premier streaming experience we aim to provide to all fans.”

NASCAR America launched on NBCSN in 2014. It evolved into NASCAR America Motormouths in 2019, with more interactivity with fans.

 The NCAA March Madness men's college basketball tournament overshadows and otherwise busy weekend of live sports programming.

First round action of the tournament continues Saturday beginning at noon and runs throughout the day across networks ESPN, CBS, tru TV, TBS and TNT. Second round coverage launches on Sunday with eight games slated throughout the day.

The Women’s college basketball tournament kicks off on Sunday with first round coverage on ESPN, ESPNU, ESPN2 and ABC.

Auto racing events will speed up this weekend with NASCAR and Xfinity races on FS1 and IMSA 12 hours of Sebring coverage on NBCSN. Fox will air the NASCAR QuikTrip500 race on Sunday. 

The Six Nations rugby tournament enters its "Super Saturday" action Saturday on NBC with the England and Ireland match. In addition, CNBC will carry the Italy-Scotland match and NBCSN will air the Wales-France game.

On the combat sports front, ESPN will offer a UFC fight card featuring a middleweight main event between Derek Brunson and Kevin Holland, while ESPN will offer a Saturday matinee boxing match between light heavyweights Artur Beterbiev and Adam Deines.  DAZN will distribute the Vergil Ortiz Jr.-Maurice Hooker welterweight fight, as well as the Lawrence Okolie-Krzysztof Glowacki cruiserweight fight.

NBC and Golf Network will air final coverage of the PGA Honda Classic Sunday.

Round four of the Six Nations Rugby Championship continues March 13, as Italy faces Wales in Rome. The match streams live on Peacock Premium at 9:15 a.m. ET and airs on NBCSN at 3 p.m. England takes on France in London. That kicks off at 11:45 a.m. ET on Peacock Premium, and airs at 5 p.m. on NBCSN.

March 14, it’s Scotland versus Ireland in Edinburgh. Kickoff is at 11 a.m. ET on Peacock Premium and the match airs 1 a.m. the next day on NBCSN.  

Studio hosts are Ahmed Fareed and Alex Corbisiero.

Wales sits atop the standings at 3-0. France is 2-0 and Ireland and England are 1-2. Scotland is 1-1 and Italy is 0-3. Italy has lost its last 30 Six Nations matches. 

England won the Six Nations championship last year.

 The NBA All-Star game highlights a busy sports lineup for the first weekend of March.

Due to the pandemic-driven shortened NBA schedule, Sunday’s TNT NBA All-Star game telecast from Atlanta will also feature coverage of the traditional Slam Dunk and Three-Point contests. In the past those events were featured as part of a two-day NBA All-Star festivities weekend. 

Read also: New Challenges for TNT's NBA All-Star Telecast

Meanwhile, college basketball heats up with weekend tournament action, with such conferences as the Southern Conference, Patriot League, West Coast, Sun Belt, Missouri Valley and Atlantic 10 all featuring playoff action across various networks. Nationally ranked teams will also see action Saturday including fourth-ranked Illinois against seventh-ranked Ohio State (ESPN), eighth-ranked Alabama against Georgia (CBS) and 10th ranked Villanova visiting Providence (Fox). On Sunday, ESPN will telecast the game between third-raked Baylor and 18th-ranked Texas Tech, Fox will carry the fifth-ranked Iowa -25th-ranked Wisconsin game and CBS will air the ninth-ranked Houston-Memphis contest.

Also on Sunday, Fox will feature coverage of NASCAR’s Pennzoil 400 race, and NBC offers NHL action with a Buffalo Sabers-New York Islanders telecast -- part of a quadrupleheader across NBC and NBCSN celebrating “Hockey Day in America.” 

On the ring sports front, ESPN Plus will offer the UFC 259 pay-per-view event featuring the Jan Blachowicz-Israel Adesanya light heavyweight championship main event bout. 

NBCSN along with boxing production company Ring City USA will present a live boxing card in primetime Thursday night, the first of several Thursday night fight cards planned for 2021, according to NBC Sports. 

The fight card includes a co-main event featuring undefeated lightweight prospect Danielito Zorrilla facing Ruslan Madiyev and Bryan Chevalier taking on Carlos Zambrano in a featherweight bout.

The event is part of a partnership reached this past October between NBC Sports Group and Ring City USA that calls for 14 boxing matches on NBCSN through 2021, according to NBC Sports Group.

Also Read: NBCU Plans to Shut Down NBCSN Cable Sports Net

Comcast could be close to filling the last major hole in the distribution of its Peacock streaming service -- Amazon Fire TV support -- after chairman and CEO Brian Roberts told an industry audience that it should be on all major platforms soon.

Comcast launched Peacock nationally on July 15 and has said it has signed up about 33 million people to the service as of January. But the streaming offering has come under some criticism. A report in The Information claimed that only 11.3 million subscribers are actually watching Peacock on a regular basis. Several analysts have called for Comcast to spin its NBCUniversal content unit -- which includes Peacock -- with WarnerMedia in order to achieve more scale for the streamer.

"We're not on every platform yet with Peacock, we're on most,” Roberts said at the Morgan Stanley Technology, Media & Telecom Conference on Wednesday (March 3). “I believe we'll get to all the major platforms soon." 

Roberts didn't break down Peacock subscribers but said the service was the second fastest growing brand in 2020, behind video conferencing app Zoom. 

Peacock is available on Roku, Apple TV, Google Chromecast, Android TV, PlayStation, Xbox and on Comcast’s X1 and Flex set-tops. Landing an Amazon deal would substantially boost Peacock’s presence. Amazon said in December that Amazon Fire had about 50 million monthly active users. 

Comcast has been beefing up content on the Peacock service of late. Roberts said that sports content from the NBCSN sports channel after it is shuttered at the end of this year will make it to the streamer, and he hoped that it will be able to shift some shows currently on Hulu -- in which it owns a 33% interest -- to Peacock in the next few years. 

“We’re going to be disciplined trying to find the balance, so it allows us to redirect assets to streaming or other technologies that might emerge over the next few years that allows you to say this is the right bet for us,” Roberts said. “We’re looking at every sports relationship we’re doing to have a streaming aspect to it, not just a linear television aspect. We’re using it, as we did with Peacock -- if you look at Premier League, golf, WWE, all of those events are also on Peacock, as certainly [will be] the Olympics.” 

The final weekend of February will feature a mix of boxing and mixed martial arts events as well as hoops and ice action across broadcast and cable channels. 

Saturday night also features a heavy lineup of combat sports events, beginning with Fox’s primetime telecast of the Anthony Dirrell-Kyrone Davis super middleweight championship fight. The DAZN streaming service will offer Canelo Alvarez’s defense of his super middleweight championship belt against Avni Yildirim.

Also Read: DAZN Steps Back into Ring with Canelo Alvarez

On the mixed martial arts front, ESPN+ will stream the UFC’s fight card from Las Vegas, featuring the Jairzinho Rozenstruik-Ciryl Gane heavyweight main event.

ABC continues its primetime Saturday night NBA telecasts with the Dallas Mavericks-Brooklyn Nets game. The network will also televise a Sunday afternoon game between the Los Angeles Clippers and Milwaukee Bucks. 

On Sunday, NBC will televise the Boston Bruins-New York Rangers NHL game before moving to the greens for final round coverage of the PGA Tour’s WGC-Workday Championship at The Concession tournament. 

NBCSN serves up a number of Premier League soccer and Guinness Six Nations rugby games on both Saturday and Sunday. 

Also Read: Six Nations Rugby on Peacock Premium, NBCN Feb. 27

Several college basketball conferences -- including the America East and Big South -- are launching championship tournaments this weekend as the sport moves toward its “March Madness” NCAA tournament selection day on March 14. Meanwhile, a number of top 10 teams are in play Saturday including top-ranked Gonzaga against LMU (ESPN), second-ranked Baylor facing 17th-ranked Kansas (ESPN), third-ranked Michigan against Indiana (Fox), fifth-ranked Illinois facing 23rd-ranked Wisconsin (ESPN), seventh-ranked Oklahoma battling state rival Oklahoma St. (ABC), and 10th-ranked West Virginia meeting Kansas State (ESPN2).

NBC Sports’ coverage of Guinness Six Nations rugby continues this weekend. On Feb. 27, Italy faces Ireland in Rome. The match is live on Peacock Premium at 9:15 a.m. ET and will air later on NBCSN, kickoff at 12:30 p.m. ET. 

Wales faces England in Cardiff that same day. That kicks off 11:45 a.m. ET, live on Peacock Premium, and at 2:30 p.m. on NBCSN. England beat Wales 33-30 a year ago. 

France versus Scotland, set for February 28, has been postponed due to COVID concerns.

Also Read: Sports and OTT: Streaming Could Squeeze the Last Vestige of Appointment TV

Ahmed Fareed and Alex Corbisiero are the studio hosts for NBC Sports. 

Peacock Premium costs $4.99 monthly. NBCUniversal is shutting down NBCSN by the end of the year. 

France and Wales are leading the table with two wins and no losses. England and Scotland are 1-1 and Ireland and Italy are thus far winless. 

Each of the six national teams plays one another in an annual round robin. England won the competition last year. 

Round two of the Guinness Six Nations rugby championship is live on Peacock Premium and delayed on NBCSN. England and Italy face off at 9:15 a.m. ET Feb. 13 in London on Peacock Premium, and NBCSN has the match at 12:30 p.m. Scotland and Wales kick off 11:45 a.m. ET Feb. 13 in Edinburgh on Peacock Premium, and the match starts on NBCSN 2:30 p.m. 

On Feb. 14, Ireland and France kick off 10 a.m. in Dublin on Peacock Premium. The match airs on NBCSN 10:30 p.m. 

Ahmed Fareed and Alex Corbisiero are the studio hosts. 

The annual Six Nations competition started Feb. 6. France, Wales and Scotland have one win apiece and Ireland, England and Italy all have one loss. 

Peacock Premium costs $4.99 monthly. NBCUniversal is shutting down NBCSN by the end of the year. 

Each of the six national teams plays one another in a round robin. England won the competition last year but was stunned by Scotland Feb. 6. 

Notwithstanding the cratering of viewership in last Sunday’s Super Bowl LV, which collapsed quicker than the Kansas City Chiefs’ offensive line, streaming services could be poised to snatch what has been the last vestige of appointment television: live sports, according to at least one influential analyst.  

According to Nielsen, 96.4 million homes watched Super Bowl LV on TV, the lowest number since 2007. About 5.7 million homes streamed the game, the highest level for that metric ever. 

In a research note that was issued before those ratings numbers were released, MoffettNathanson media analyst Michael Nathanson pointed to the growing trend of younger viewers migrating to streaming video, and that it would likely mean that sports would have to follow them. Nathanson didn’t expect big tent sporting events like the Super Bowl or the World Series to switch exclusively online, but he said games from various professional and college sports leagues, a staple of cable networks like TBS, TNT and regional sports networks owned by teams, could be in danger.

“We would think that the NFL, NCAA, ‘March Madness,’ NBA and MLB Playoffs will remain the domain of broadcast and will have digital rights that are monetized via affiliated services like Paramount +, Peacock or ESPN +,” Nathanson wrote. “Fox, the odd man out without a paid OTT service, will have a decision to make about how they move forward.”

Fox bought entertainment streaming service Tubi last year, which offers free ad-supported movies and shows from several networks, including Fox, doesn’t have a sports component. On Feb. 9, Fox said it expects Tubi to reach $1 billion in revenue over the next few years. In 2021, it anticipates revenue at the service will double to about $300 million. 

Keeping tentpole sporting events on the four major broadcasters makes sense for now because that’s where the majority of viewers are. Even the worst-viewed Super Bowl in 14 years was watched on traditional TV by a nearly 20:1 margin over streaming. 

But for nationally televised sports like the NHL, NBA, golf, tennis and college sports, the staples of sports-based cable channels, networks may have to make some hard choices soon, Nathanson continued, adding they may have to adopt a hybrid approach like Peacock and NBCU, putting a limited number of events across a smaller number of networks. That, Nathanson wrote, in turn “would mean the end of FS2, ESPNU, CBS Sports Networks and a greater number of games carried on OTT products also now including HBO Max.”

Analysts have been warning that streaming services like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and the like could disrupt the televised sports business for years, but so far they have only dipped their toes in the sports business. But as new services emerge, they are beginning to pay attention to sports, and that should have linear networks worried.

In the past month Peacock, Comcast NBCUniversal’s streaming offering, has said it will assume sports programming from NBCSN at the end of the year, when that regional sports network shuts down. 

Peacock also reached a deal with WWE, where its WWE Network streaming service will be available exclusively to Peacock subscribers for $4.99 per month (free to Comcast Xfinity customers, who also get Peacock premium for free). In addition, WWE renewed its licensing relationship with NBCU’s USA Network, which airs WWE’s Monday Night Raw.  

Viewership on cable sports channels has been slipping as younger viewers cut the traditional pay TV cord. ESPN has lost about 9% of its subscribers since 2015 because of cord cutting, while FS1 has lost 5% and the Golf Channel has dipped 11%, according to MoffettNathanson. At the same time, overall time viewed on cable sports channels like ESPN and Fox Sports 2 has fallen a collective 5% since 2015. For some channels the drop is more pronounced -- ESPN2 dropped 12% and ESPNU fell 11% in that time frame. Also during that period, remaining viewers are getting older. According to MoffettNathanson, 65% of all cable network viewers are over the age of 50. 

“Obviously, if you are a sports league trying to build long-term connections with the next generation of fans, this is an increasingly terrifying outcome,” Nathanson wrote. 

Nathanson pointed to both the WWE deal and the NBCSN closing as signs of a sea change in the industry.

“If a Comcast-owned network decides the economics of a standalone national sports network no longer makes sense, what does this mean for other national sports networks?” Nathanson wrote. 

Sports consultant Lee Berke, president and CEO of LHB Media & Entertainment said that while the business is changing, it won’t necessarily be an either/or scenario. Berke believes that most sports networks won’t pick sides in the streaming wars, but will instead continue on a path toward multi-platform offerings.  

“I don’t see pay TV going away. I don’t see sports going away on pay TV. I think you see less of it,” Berke said. “I think you see a more consolidated bundle of fewer networks, that are general interest, sports, entertainment and news. Even in the worst scenarios, they’re still going to have 50-60 million TV homes that are subscribers to these bundles. So there’s still value there. There’s an audience there.”

Berke added that networks will continue to beef up their direct-to-consumer services with sports. He pointed to ESPN +, which has added considerable content from its launch in 2018, and which he believes will be nearly indistinguishable from ESPN- proper in the next few years.  

“You’ll see this sag in the pay TV universe,” Berke said, adding that some sports will migrate to streaming services, some will revert to broadcast and some will remain on pay TV. “I think the key is there has to be a multi-platform strategy. The idea of a linear-only sports network just is not going to work going forward.”   

Content companies already have started putting much of their linear content on their direct-to-consumer offerings. During the Super Bowl, ViacomCBS spent a lot of money on ads for its upcoming Paramount + launch, mainly showing shows that are already available on their linear channels. 

Making all of a network’s linear content available to stream on a separate app hasn’t sat too well with distributors in the past, especially if the streaming app is priced lower than the rate the distributor is paying. That, Berke said, will have to be negotiated out.

“There will have to be a reckoning,” Berke said.       

Programmers will have to start making those decisions soon. Although streaming has obviously been a part of at least some sports rights deals -- and the major broadcasters have already locked up Major League Baseball, PGA Golf and SEC Football agreements recently -- there are still several left to negotiate. According to Nathanson, ESPN’s MLB rights deals come due in 2022, as does NBC’s Premier League pact. In 2023, several NFL rights deals expire: ESPN’s Monday Night Football, Fox’s Thursday Night Football and Sunday NFC packages, NBC’s Sunday Night Football and CBS’s Sunday AFC football package. Also that year, Fox and ABC/ESPN’s Big Ten college football packages are set to be renegotiated.  

Further out, ESPN’s and Fox Sports’ Pac-12 and ESPN’s UFC deals expire in 2024. In 2025, the NBA’s rights agreements with  ABC/ESPN and TNT come due; as do Fox and NBC Sports pacts with NASCAR. 

While streaming is expected to play a big role in those negotiations, and sports has come under fire for driving most of the rate increases for pay TV, Berke said he still expects a robust rights market.

“Because every technology, every new platform needs sports to drive subs, the key properties that are out there will have healthy increases in rights fees,” Berke said. “I think the NFL is going to come close to doubling. The NBA, which has acknowledged that the one issue they have is that they haven't established a strong streaming presence in a sport that skews young, when their deals are up in 2025 they will go much more heavily into streaming platforms and direct-to-consumer. Because these media businesses will have multiple screens and multiple ways to make money, and because they need to drive subscribers across all of them, the rights fees will go up substantially.”  

There are a few ways you can look at NBCUniversal’s decision to shut down its NBCSN (NBC Sports Network) channel and distribute NBCSN’s programming to the USA network and Peacock. 

On one level, it’s a cost-saving measure and a way to boost USA and Peacock at a time when both could use a little love.

On another, it’s the first of many similar decisions NBCU and other big networks are going to be making as they consolidate their offerings on linear and prepare to migrate the bulk of their business to streaming.

The powers that be at all of the major networks seem to understand that the future belongs to streaming. Their goal is to make the switchover as painless as possible by gradually reducing their footprint on linear TV while increasing it on streaming. The process of reducing their linear footprint is a lot like one of those peg board games, the ones you find at Cracker Barrel, where the goal is to jump one piece over another and remove the piece you’ve jumped, till you’re left with just a single piece.

So NBCU just picked up USA and jumped it over NBCSN, which was then removed from the board. That’s a move NBCU and all the other networks are going to be making often as they try to figure out how to shrink their linear portfolio and grow their streaming offering without turning off both viewers and advertisers.

It’s a tricky balancing act, as we’re at a point where there are still far more viewers watching traditional pay TV than streaming. But that number is changing far more rapidly than it has been, and the networks don’t want to get caught in a situation where they are losing out streaming because their competitors have more desirable programming. 

At the same time, they’ve got to keep their traditional linear businesses in shape, as that is still (for now) their major source of revenue.

So moving those NBCSN viewers to USA and to Peacock makes a whole lot of sense.

The game is going to get a lot more complicated as many viewers are likely to make the trip to streaming slowly--moving to vMVPDs and smaller cable packages before making the big jump to streaming only.

And there’s a goodly number who won’t ever make that jump, which is why the networks will need to keep their linear offerings alive, even after the majority of viewers have made the switch to streaming.

In addition to viewers, networks are going to have to manage advertiser expectations during the switchover, as well. Today’s conventional wisdom is that younger, more affluent audiences are on streaming, while older and less affluent audiences are still on linear. 

While that means that certain brands will definitely be all about streaming, many of the big national advertisers, the kind networks rely on, are going to want to reach a wide range of audiences, so the networks are going to need to present them with strong offerings on both linear and streaming.

And if all that wasn’t stressful enough, you can rest assured that the mainstream media will be beating the drum about the “death of pay TV” with all sorts of gory stats about how many viewers the various pay TV services are losing and how happy viewers are once they make the switch to streaming.

All of which is going to make advertisers leery of committing their money to television.

Fortunately, there are plenty of silver linings in all these clouds.

First and foremost, this is all temporary. The next three to five years will be tumultuous, but after that things will settle down and streaming will become the dominant ecosystem for TV with all that implies and linear will be in a prolonged sunsetting stage. 

There’s also much better measurement available to handle the period where neither ecosystem is dominant. iSpot already had a system in place to provide apple-to-apples viewership stats across streaming and linear platforms so that advertisers can make sure their media buys are reaching the right audiences while avoiding massive overlap.

Addressable advertising is becoming mainstream, too, both on streaming (where everything has always been addressable) and on linear (where Nielsen recently rolled out a way to measure ad slots that are split between several advertisers.) 

That’s on the advertising end.

On the programming end, we’re already seeing how traditional networks are making excellent use of their streaming networks to promote their linear properties, giving them a strategic advantage over tech-only players like Amazon and Apple, especially when it comes to those viewers who are still primarily on linear but thinking of making the switch.

Sports still needs to be figured out, but NBCU’s decision to move some of their sports content from NBCSN to Peacock is a sign that the networks are aware of the fact that sports will eventually need to migrate to streaming, a move that is no doubt tied up in myriad rights issues.

What’s Next?

I suspect that NBCU’s move will be the first of many similar moves made by the big network groups as they consolidate their linear offerings and gently nudge their audiences towards their streaming properties. It will be a gradual process--nothing in TV ever happens quickly--but it will happen and successfully managing that migration will be the line between success and failure in the years ahead.

Comcast’s NBCUniversal unit said it is planning to shut down its cable sports network, NBCSN, by the end of 2021.

The move is further evidence that media companies are shifting from their profitable but declining cable networks to the hot streaming category.

In a memo, NBC Sports Group Chairman Pete Bevacqua said sports programming including NHL Stanley Cup Playoff games and NASCAR races will be simulcast this year on USA Network as part of a “transition.”

Also Read: Round Three of Six Nations Rugby on NBCSN, NBC Sport Gold

At the end of the year, key elements of NBCSN’s programming will move to USA and, in some cases, Peacock, NBCU’s streaming service.

“We’re all aware of how quickly the media landscape is evolving, and our Company is taking thoughtful steps to stay ahead of these trends wherever possible and, in many instances, help set them," Bevacqua said in his memo.

He said the move of sports to USA will “make USA Network an extraordinarily powerful platform in the media marketplace, and gives our sports programming a significant audience boost. We believe that the power of this offering is the best long-term strategy for our Sports Group, our partners, and our company.” The plans about NBCSN were first reported by Sports Business Journal.

Also Read: ‘Sports Illustrated Sportsperson of the Year’ Returns to NBCSN

To some degree, that means that rather than trying to compete against ESPN and Fox Sports One with NBCSN, NBC has decided to copy what AT&T’s TNT has, with a combination of entertainment programming and sports.

Bevacqua aimed to reassure staffers that NBCU remains committed to live sports programming. He noted that Golf Channel moved to Stamford and that NBC Sports is producing multiple programs for Peacock. It is also doing more with Telemundo and Sky Sports, he added.

“This transition, combined with our robust portfolio of assets, including Golf Channel, The Olympic Channel, RSNs, SportsEngine, GolfNow, digital, audio, sports betting and gaming, puts us in an even stronger position as leaders in the sports media space and to continue to grow our business,” he said. 

NBC Sports has Six Nations rugby action Oct. 31. It is the final round of the annual championship, which had been put on hold in early March due to the pandemic, but resumed Oct. 24. Ireland, England and France have a chance to win the title. 

Wales and Scotland face off at 10:15 a.m. ET live Oct. 31 on Peacock Premium and 2 p.m. ET on delay at NBCSN. Peacock Premium costs $4.99 monthly. 

Italy and England play at 12:45 p.m. ET on Peacock Premium and 4 p.m. on NBCSN. 

France and Ireland play live at 4 p.m. Oct. 31 on Peacock Premium and then 6 p.m. on delay at NBCSN. 

Ahmed Fareed and Alex Corbisiero are the studio hosts. 

Ireland, England and France are all 3-1. Scotland is 2-2, Wales 1-3 and Italy winless in four matches. 

This is a quick snapshot of TV by the numbers for the week of Aug. 17-23, revealing the most-watched shows and networks using glass-level data from Inscape, and the top shows and networks by TV ad impressions with insights via iSpot.tv.

Most-Watched Shows and Networks 

Via Inscape.tv, the TV data company with insights from a panel of more than 15 million smart TVs. Data is linear, live TV only and includes all episode types (new and reruns). Rankings are by percent share duration (i.e., time spent watching).

Looking at shows, of all the minutes watched by smart TVs that Inscape measured in all dayparts, 2.22% of the time was spent on NBA basketball games on TNT and 1.56% of the time was spent on NBA basketball games on ESPN. In third place and fourth places, respectively: America’s Choice 2020: Democratic National Convention on CNN (1.43%) and Decision 2020: Democratic National Convention on MSNBC.

On the network side of things, of all minutes watched last week, 6.51% of the time was spent on Fox News, 5.55% was spent on ABC and 5.42% on CBS. MSNBC, TNT and ESPN all inched up the ranking compared to the previous week. 

Top Shows and Networks by TV Ad Impressions

Via iSpot.tv, the always-on TV ad measurement and attribution company. Rankings are by TV ad impressions, for new episodes only. 

NBA basketball blew all other programming out of the water, racking up over 7 billion TV ad impressions. NHL hockey took second place with 1.1 billion impressions, followed by Good Morning America (919.8 million). News coverage of the 2020 Democratic National Convention also ranked high, and non-news or sports programming on the top 25 list included America’s Got Talent, The Young and the Restless, General Hospital and Days of our Lives.

Fox News continues its hold on first place for networks, generating nearly 5.7 billion TV ad impressions, which is roughly what it’s had for the last few weeks. ESPN took second place with 4 billion impressions, followed by ABC (nearly 4 billion), NBC (3.7 billion) and CNN (3.7 billion). Other sports-centric networks also made the top 25, including NBC Sports (1.3 billion), Golf (672.8 million) and MLB Network (326.3 million). 

The following is a snapshot of television by the numbers for the week of Aug. 10-16, highlighting the most-watched shows and networks using glass-level data from Inscape, and the top shows and networks by TV ad impressions with insights via iSpot.tv.

Most-Watched Shows and Networks 

Via Inscape.tv, the TV data company with insights from a panel of more than 15 million smart TVs. Data is linear, live TV only and includes all episode types (new and reruns). Rankings are by percent share duration (i.e., time spent watching).

Examining shows, of all the minutes watched by smart TVs that Inscape measured in all dayparts, 0.82% of the time was spent on NBCSN’s broadcast of NHL hockey (specifically, the Stanley Cup Playoffs). ABC’s Good Morning America (0.67%) and MTV’s Ridiculousness (0.62%) finished second and third, respectively, by share duration.

For networks, of all minutes watched last week, 6.32% of the time was spent on Fox News -- a one-spot jump from the previous week, when the network was No. 2. The second-place spot went to NBC (5.57%), then ABC (5.36%) was third, followed by CBS (5.08%) and CNN (3.26%). The week’s top mover was Discovery Channel (1.96%), which climbed from 19th to 10th partly on the strength of its annual “Shark Week” special.

Top Shows and Networks by TV Ad Impressions

Via iSpot.tv, the always-on TV ad measurement and attribution company. Rankings are by TV ad impressions, for new episodes only. 

NBA basketball remained atop the rankings, with 1.8 billion TV ad impressions on the week, followed by NHL hockey (1.4 billion), Today (816 million) and America’s Newsroom (801 million). Sports-related programming once again made its presence known among the top shows. Five of the top 12 by impressions were sports-related (NBA, NHL, plus MLB baseball at No. 6, PGA Tour golf in ninth and SportsCenter in 12th). But it was news that saw the biggest footprint on the rankings, with 15 of the top 25 spots.

Fox News was still the highest impression-generating network, with 5.8 billion impressions, followed by NBC (4.3 billion), CNN (3.5 billion) and ABC (3.4 billion). Sports-focused networks also ranked highly, with ESPN (1.9 billion impressions), NBC Sports (1.2 billion), Golf Channel (519 million) and MLB Network (374 million) all among the top 25 networks by impressions during shows with new episodes. TNT (933 million) saw high impression totals as well airing plenty of NBA games during the week.

This is a quick snapshot of TV by the numbers for the week of Aug. 3-9, revealing the most-watched shows and networks using glass-level data from Inscape, and the top shows and networks by TV ad impressions with insights via iSpot.tv.

Most-Watched Shows and Networks 

Via Inscape.tv, the TV data company with insights from a panel of more than 15 million smart TVs. Data is linear, live TV only and includes all episode types (new and reruns). Rankings are by percent share duration (i.e., time spent watching).

Looking at shows, of all the minutes watched by smart TVs that Inscape measured in all dayparts, 1.63% of the time was spent on the 2020 PGA Championship on CBS and 1.17% was spent on the PGA Championship on ESPN. NBA basketball games on TNT took third place with 0.95% share duration.

On the network side of things, of all minutes watched last week, 6.06% of the time was spent on CBS — a move up from the previous week where it was No. 4. Second and third places go to Fox News (6.04%) and ABC (5.46%). Notably, NBCSN zoomed into the No. 21 spot (previously it hadn’t been in the top 50).

Top Shows and Networks by TV Ad Impressions

Via iSpot.tv, the always-on TV ad measurement and attribution company. Rankings are by TV ad impressions, for new episodes only. 

Sports led the ranking, with NBA basketball taking first place with over 2.5 billion TV ad impressions, followed by the 2020 PGA Championship (1.8 billion) and NHL hockey (1.2 billion). Aside from SportsCenter at No. 9, the rest of the top 10 spots all go to news-related programming. Non-news, talk or sports programming to make the top 25 include General Hospital, Days of our Lives, 90 Day Fiancé: Happily Ever After? and Big Brother.

Fox News (5.7 billion impressions) continues to reign supreme when it comes to the highest impression-generating networks, followed by NBC (3.5 billion) and CNN (3.4 billion). Sports-centric networks also made the top 25, including ESPN (2.8 billion impressions), NBC Sports (1.3 billion), MLB Network (412 million) and Golf (334.4 million).

 Chicago White Sox pitcher Lucas Giolito is on the mound, preparing to pitch to Tampa Bay Rays slugger Ji-Man Choi in the first inning of an April 23 baseball contest. Choi rips the first pitch from Giolito over the right field wall for a two-run home run, setting the table for the Rays’ 9-2 victory.

The scenario sounds like one from a typical Major League Baseball game. Except in this case, it took place on a computer screen rather than a baseball diamond. Giolito and Rays superstar Blake Snell were competing in a MLB The Show 20 Players League video game tournament, televised recently on ESPN2.

With all major pro sports events on hiatus for the foreseeable future due to the COVID-19 pandemic, networks such as ESPN, Fox Sports and NBCSN
have turned to esports to help fill the void created by the loss of live action. While the audience for a virtual baseball game will never rival the ratings for a real one, executives said that video game-driven content has served up a scheduling option for networks looking to fill a sizable void due to the loss of live sports.

“Depending on how these things are being presented, they can have a certain energy and excitement, and viewers are looking for that,” media consultant Bill Carroll said. “If this were normal times, this might be a different conversation, but in the current environment the sports networks are looking for every reasonable opportunity that they can pursue.”

Already in the Mix

While mostly featured on streaming sites like Twitch, esports programming is no stranger to linear television channels. As early as 2006, USA Network aired gameplay for such video games as Halo from esports company Major League Gaming. But for the most part, the genre is considered niche TV programming, although growing in overall popularity. A McKinsey & Co. report from last August identified some 21 million esports fans in the U.S., 10% of whom watch more than 20 hours of streaming esports programming per week.

“Esports has been out there for years, but because of live sports, there weren’t any opportunities to take more chances and see what people connected with,” Brad Zager, executive producer, executive VP and head of production and operations at Fox Sports, said. “There was no proof that esports would either do well or not so well. Now that live sports has disappeared, we have an opportunity to find out.”

Manny Anekal, an esports analyst and founder of esports website The Next Level, said the dearth of live sports programming has forced some sports networks to turn to the genre in an effort to satisfy fans who miss watching games. He counted more than 50 esports events covered by sports networks in the past 45 days.

“People want to watch something fresh, so in the near-term, it is serving as a pretty good filler for live sports programming,” Anekal said.

Some of those events — like Fox Sports’s NASCAR iRacing events — have garnered ratings surpassing the other programs sports networks have leaned on during the pandemic, such as replays of classic games and talk shows, he said.

Welcome Race Fans — and Others

Fox and FS1’s weekly iRacing telecasts, created after NASCAR shut down in March, have built a following among stock-car racing fans and casual viewers alike. More than 25% of viewers for FS1’s March 22 iRacing telecast were non-NASCAR fans, according to Nielsen.

The races — in which current and retired drivers sit in virtual cars with standard steering wheels and screens that replicate the feel of driving on a real track — have provided much needed inventory and new, unseen programming, as well as a powerful viewership punch to Fox and FS1. The April 26 iRacing event, simulating the experience at Talladega Superspeedway in Alabama, averaged 1.2 million viewers on Fox, second only to the 1.3 million viewers that tuned into the March 29 event from virtual Texas Motor Speedway, according to Nielsen (see chart).

Zager said the telecasts are treated much like live NASCAR events, with celebrity singers such as actress and COVID-19 survivor Rita Wilson performing the national anthem, right down to simulated military aircraft flying over the track and Fox announcers calling the race. The additional touches give race fans something resembling a real NASCAR viewing experience.

“We wanted to give people a sense of normalcy when people tune into a NASCAR race, so doing an anthem before a NASCAR race provides a sense of normalcy,” Zager said. “Hearing someone say, ‘Gentlemen, start your engines,’ provides a sense of normalcy. It really goes back to people gravitating to engaging content.”

ESPN and NBC are among the outlets televising professional athletes playing their specialty sport — except with a video game controller instead of a bat or a ball.

Esports Take the Field, Court

ESPN has stepped into the esports ring in a major way, televising tournaments based on video gameplay of popular National Basketball Association, National Football League and Major League Baseball video games by current players representing their respective teams. From the network’s five-day NBA 2K20 tournament telecasts in early April, featuring such NBA stars as Kevin Durant, Trae Young, Donovan Mitchell and Devin Booker playing the 2K sports-produced NBA 2K20 video game, to the just completed MLB The Show Players League Tournament, in which players from all 30 MLB teams battled head-to-head via Sony Interactive Entertainment’s baseball video game, the network has fully embraced the esports genre, ESPN VP of digital programming John Lasker said.

“The circumstances surrounding the pandemic created a unique challenge and opportunity, in the absence of most live sports, to serve sports fans of all kinds with the best possible content available,” Lasker said. “We are fortunate to have existing and long-term relationships in the games and esports space, which has allowed us to execute some terrific programming.”

ESPN has been pleased with both the audience engagement and quality of its esports presentations, Lasker said. The network’s NBA 2K20 Pro Tournament, for example, averaged 201,000 viewers across four nights in April.

It’s not only the sports-focused leagues playing on the virtual competition field. NBC this past Saturday (May 1) aired a Kentucky Derby: Triple Crown virtual horse race from a simulated Churchill Downs, in which 13 past Triple Crown winners competed to determine the greatest of all time, per the network.

The race follows NBCSN’s April 26 coverage of the ePremier League Invitational Tournament finals, with English Premier League stars playing on EA Sports’s FIFA 20 soccer video game, as well as the April 6-9 eSports Short Track iRacing Challenge, featuring drivers such drivers as Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin competing on virtual versions of popular racetracks.

“With no live sports and under social distancing guidelines, these events have provided viewers a way to experience live action surrounding the sports they love,” NBC Sports said in a statement. “We look forward to the return of live sports, and will continue to evaluate where eSports best fit on our platforms.”

Fox Sports last month launched an eMLS Tournament involving such Major League Soccer players as Paul Arriola, Adama Diomande and Tyler Miller.

Esports content is not only serving the needs of sports fans, but also the athletes themselves, Fox Sports’s Zager said.

“They need a release while their sports are off, and esports have given them that competitiveness, which for a professional athlete is really important during this time,” he said.

Esports events deliver a younger-than-average audience. Fox Sports reported that its iRacing content dropped its average viewership age by three years compared to live NASCAR telecasts, while the NBA reported that 48% of viewers for ESPN’s four-day NBA 2K20 tournament telecasts were under 45.

“These events are driving a newer and younger audience,” Anekal said. “We’ll see if that translates over into the real world when live sports come back.”

Also still to be determined is the advertising support for esports content. Though ad revenue for live sports programming dwarfs what esports content is currently generating, according to industry observers, the genre has drawn its fair share of blue-chip advertisers. Companies such as IBM, Verizon, FedEx and Progressive have purchased ads in Fox’s iRacing events.

“As the television industry adjusts to the current environment, advertisers have to look for the opportunities that exist, and certainly esports would fall into that category, especially since live sports events are not likely to happen in the immediate future,” Carroll said. “The normal esports audience looks to fall in line with the demographics of many advertisers who are normally in regular sports would be looking for.”

As for the genre’s future once live sports returns, Anekal said that the esports platforms that can appeal to viewers beyond the traditional on the field play could exist side-by-side with live events.

Added Zager, “When sports comes back we’ll see what survives in this world and what we can build on.” 

Two new combat sports franchises will step into the sports television ring in June in an effort to reach young fight fans.

The Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC) will distribute its inaugural event via pay-per-view on June 2, while the Professional Fighters League — a mixed martial arts league in which fighters must compete in scheduled regular-season and postseason bouts to advance to the championship — will debut on NBCSN June 7.

BKFC will look to draw young fight fans — as well as older boxing fans — when it launches its first fight card Saturday on PPV. The fights, which harken back to the late 1800s, when grapplers such as John L. Sullivan and Gentleman Jim Corbett fought sanctioned fights with no gloves, will take place in Wyoming, the only state thus far to sanction the sport.

“It’s very safe, it took us years and years to develop it and we’re going to present it in a way that’s at a high-class level,” said Brian Ricco, executive producer for MultiVision Media, the PPV distributor of the event. “This is not an underground event; this is going to be in big arenas featuring full-blown productions.”

Much like UFC in its early days, BKFC will use PPV as its distribution pipeline to fans. The fight card, featuring 12 bouts, will retail for $29.99, and all major cable distributors including In Demand, DirecTV and Dish Network will offer the event, according to Ricco.

Over-the-top combat sports service FITE TV will air the event via the web. Ricco added that the fight would be distributed in 4K, a rarity among combat sports PPV events. The fights will take place in a squared ring with four ropes. Most bouts will consist of three two-minute rounds with a referee both inside and outside the ring. The combatants will be bare-knuckled, although they can apply tape on the hands below the knuckles, according to Ricco.

Ricco added that he’s not concerned about potential negative feedback from critics who may lament the violent nature of the event. “There’s a lot of history here with bare-knuckle boxing, dating back to John L. Sullivan and Jim Corbett, and we’ll tap into that,” he said. “I believe people will be intrigued by this.”

BKFC founder and CEO David Feldman would not predict how many buys the event would generate, but said the event has already generated high social media interest.

“It’s like the forbidden fruit — it’s something that you couldn’t see before because it’s always been underground,” he said. “What they will end up seeing is a very professional event.”

BKFC will look to distribute quarterly PPV events, with the next two shows tentatively scheduled for September and December, according to Ricco. He added the PPV model best suits the organization as it looks to build and grow its audience base.

“The first punch ever in bare-knuckle boxing will be on PPV, and as this grows we’ll see what distribution platforms makes sense,” he said.

The Professional Fighters League will feature a roster of 72 fighters from 13 countries competing in a seven-week regular-season league format that will air on NBCSN beginning June 7.

The season launches with 12 athletes in each of six different weight classes who will compete for a spot in the playoffs. During the playoff round, fighters will have to win two fights in one evening to advance to the championship event.The six eventual champions will receive a $1 million prize, according to officials.

NBCSN will air weekly, live PFL matchups as part of its new MMA Night in America show through the end of August. Events televised by NBCSN will also stream on NBCSports.com and on the NBC Sports app.

TNT has secured its second straight weekly primetime ratings win, thanks to its coverage of the second round of the NBA Playoffs, according to Nielsen.

TNT averaged 3.1 million viewers to take the top spot during the week of April 30 to May 6, according to Nielsen. Fox News was second with 2.3 million viewers, followed by MSNBC with 1.7 million viewers.

NBC Sports Network’s NHL playoffs coverage and ESPN’s NBA post-season telecasts helped both networks tie for fourth place with 1.3 million viewers, according to Nielsen.

HGTV, USA Network and TBS (all tied with 1.2 million viewers), History (978,000) and Investigation Discovery (930,000) rounded out the top 10 most watched networks in primetime.

Fox News was the top choice for viewers on a 24-hour basis for the 17 consecutive week, besting TNT, MSNBC, Nickelodeon and HGTV, said network officials. 

Fox News has won February’s monthly cable ratings race in both primetime and on a total day basis, according to Nielsen. 

In primetime Fox News averaged 2.7 million viewers during the period of Jan. 29 to Feb. 25 to best all cable networks, according to Nielsen. MSNBC was second with 1.8 million viewers, followed by USA Network, TNT and HGTV, which tied with 1.3 million viewers each. Fox News dethroned ESPN, which was the most watched cable network last month in primetime.

On a 24-hour basis, Fox News averaged 1.5 million viewers for the month, topping MSNBC, Nickelodeon, HGTV, Investigation Discovery and NBC Sports Network, according to Nielsen. The network has now won cable's total day race for 20 consecutive months, according to Nielsen.  

Fox News was also the dominant player in the cable news network ratings arena, topping MSNBC and CNN among total viewers and the key adult 25-54 demo both in primetime and on a total day basis, according to Nielsen.

February Cable News Network Ratings

Primetime

(Total Viewers)

Network                     Ratings           % Year To Year Change

FNC                             2.7 million      -5%

MSNBC                       1.8 million      +21%

CNN                            979,000         -18%

(Adults 25-54)

Network                     Ratings           %Year To Year Change

FNC                             576,000         -3%

MSNBC                       397,000         +15%

CNN                            357,000         -16%

Source: Nielsen

Fox News was the most watched cable network in primetime and on a total day basis for the second consecutive week in February, according to Nielsen. 

Fox News drew 2.2 million viewers for the week of Feb. 12 to Feb. 18, barely topping TNT’s 2.1 million viewers, according to Nielsen. Winter Olympics-fueled NBCSN finished third with 2 million viewers, followed by MSNBC and USA Network. 

On a total day basis, Fox News beat out MSNBC, MSNBC, Nickelodeon and TNT for top honors.

TNT’s coverage of the NBA All-Star weekend festivities represented the top three most watched shows of the week. Sunday’s game drew 6.4 million viewers to top all shows, while the network’s NBA All-Star Saturday Night coverage (4.6 million) and its Feb. 18 NBA Tip-off coverage (3.3 million) finished second and third respectively, reported Nielsen. 

Fox News Channel last week returned to top of the weekly primetime ratings among cable networks, according to Nielsen.

Fox News averaged 2.3 million viewers to finish first during the week of May 22 to May 28, unseating NBA playoffs-infused TNT, which finished second with 2 million viewers, Nielsen said. 

MSNBC finished third with 1.6 million viewers, followed by USA Network and HGTV, both tied with 1.3 million viewers.

TBS and ESPN tied for sixth with 1.2 million viewers each, followed by CNN and History (tied with 1 million viewers), and NBCSN (927,000 watchers.) 

Fox News was also the most watched cable network on a 24-hour basis for the 21st straight week, besting Nickelodeon, MSNBC, CNN and Adult Swim.

TNT was the most watched network among adults 18-49 in primetime as well as across female demos 18-49, 25-54 and 18-34, according to Nielsen.

Most Watched Cable Shows During The Week Of May 22-28

DateShowNetworkTotal Viewers

5/23   NBA Playoffs – Boston/Cleveland                         TNT                             7.0 million

5/25   NBA Playoffs – Cleveland/Boston                         ESPN                           5.8 million

5/22   NBA Playoffs – Golden State-San Antonio            ESPN                            5.7 million

5/22   Tucker Carlson Tonight                                      Fox News                      3.4 million

5/22   Hannity                                                            Fox News                      3.3 million

5/22   Shepard Smith Reporting                                   Fox News                      3.3 million

5/25   Rachel Maddow Show                                        MSNBC                         2.9 million

5/25   NHL Playoffs – Ottawa/Pittsburgh                       NBCSN                         2.9 million

5/24   Tucker Carlson Tonight                                      Fox News                     2.8 million

5/25   Tucker Carlson Tonight                                     Fox News                      2.8 million

Source: Nielsen

When NBC dropped the puck on its coverage of the National Hockey League’s Stanley Cup Playoffs earlier this week, it did so with the hopes of boosting viewership by offering wall-to-wall live coverage across several networks and platforms.

Along with airing every first-round playoff games across four networks — NBC, NBCSN, USA Network and CNBC — its telecasts were not blacked out for the first time in local-team markets since NBC Sports Group acquired the NHL’s rights in 2005. Boston and Pittsburgh were the only markets where first-round blackouts remained in place, NBC said.

 “The fans are the real winners here,” NBC Sports and NBCSN president of programming Jon Miller said of the side-by-side telecasts. “They now have more options than ever to watch first-round playoff coverage of their local teams.”

The losers could be the regional sports networks, which will now have to compete with national network coverage for eyeballs — although for most hockey fans, local-team telecasts are often more palatable than national network coverage.

At worst, NBC Sports executive producer Sam Flood said the new setup should eliminate the confusion over which games are blacked out in which markets. “Now you know where to go,” Flood said during a pre-playoffs conference call with reporters. “We like that. Simplicity is a good thing.”

 On the digital side, the NBC Sports app will provide live streaming of every NHL playoff game televised by NBC, NBCN, USA and CNBC, giving hockey fans multiple points of entry to watch live playoff games on multiple platforms.  

With baseball season in full swing — and with the LeBron James and Kevin Durant-led NBA Playoffs launching this weekend — NBC Sports is hoping its one-stop shop approach to distributing the chase for the Stanley Cup will keep hockey’s post-season excitement competitive in a crowded TV sports arena by streamlining the fan experience and making the competition easier to find.

Last night’s tearjerker episode of NBC’s freshman series This Is Us was a big hit on social media, generating more than 1.3 million interactions on Twitter and Facebook from more than 800,000 unique accounts, according to Nielsen’s daily social content ratings.

USA’s WWE SmackDown! series finished second with nearly 200,000 social media interactions, followed by MSNBC’s The Rachel Maddow Show, Fox News Channel’s Hannity and The CW’s The Flash, according to Nielsen.

NBCSN’s live coverage of the Chicago Blackhawks/Minnesota Wild National Hockey League game was the most social live sports telecast for the evening, generating more than 109,000 Facebook/Twitter interactions, said Nielsen.

The Summer Olympics in Rio dominated TV-related social media posts on Facebook and Twitter Tuesday night (Aug. 16) with more than 3 million uniques, according to Nielsen Social.

"Uniques" are defined as "social media accounts that have authored original content related to a linear TV episode or engaged with that content."

The Olympics aired was across six networks -- CNBC, MSNBC, NBC, NBC Universo, NBCSN, USA Network -- over several hours, with 3,410,000 Facebook uniques and 488,000 Twitter accounts.

In fact, sports (and faux sports) programming took three of the top four social spots, with the Red Sox and Orioles game on MLB Network placing third, with 102,000 uniques, and WWE Smackdown on USA placing fourth, with 87,000 uniques

Second for the night was Freeform's Pretty Little Liars, with 260,000 uniques.

For the second week in a row USA and HGTV finished cable’s weekly ratings race ended in a virtual tie, according to Nielsen.

USA Network and HGTV each drew 1.6 million viewers during the week of June 8 to June 14 to top all cable networks, said Nielsen. USA, HGTV, Disney Channel and Fox News all tied for the top spot last week, which officially ushered in the summer ratings season.

Disney Channel finished third with 1.5 million viewers, followed by Fox News Network and TNT, which finished in a tie with 1.4 million viewers.

TBS and History finished in a tie for sixth, followed by Discovery (1.2 million viewers).  NBC Sports Network, on the strength of its NHL Stanley Cup finals coverage, skated to a tie with Syfy (both with 1.1 million viewers) to round out the top 10.  

Disney Channel was the top choice for viewers on a 24-hour basis, averaging 1.2 million viewers. Fellow kids-and young adult-targeted networks Cartoon Network, Adult Swim and Nickelodeon tied for second with 1.1 million watchers.

HBO’s Game Of Thrones season five finale was the most watched show during the week, averaging 8.1 million viewers. Live sports events and sports entertainment programming from NBCSN, USA and Fox Sports 1 held seven of the top 10 positions among the most watched shows of the week, according to Nielsen.

Most Watched Shows For The Week of June 8 – 14

DateShowNetworkTotal Viewers

6/14                       Game of Thrones                                                            HBO                       8.1 million

6/8                         Major Crimes                                                                  TNT                        3.9 million

6/10                       NHL Stanley Cup Finals                                                  NBCSN                  3.9 million

6/8                         NHL Stanley Cup Finals                                                  NBCSN                  3.8 million

6/8                         WWE Entertainment (8 p.m. to 9 p.m.)                            USA                       3.6 million

6/8                         WWE Entertainment (10 p.m. to 11:14 p.m.)                    USA                       3.6 million

6/12                       Alaskan Bush People                                                     Discovery                3.6 million

6/8                         WWE Entertainment (9 p.m. to 10 p.m.)                          USA                       3.6 million

6/14                       NASCAR Sprint Cup Racing                                           FS1                         3.5 million

6/8                         FIFA Women’s World Cup                                              FS1                         3.3 million

Source: Nielsen

NBCSN's coverage of Manchester United's 2-1 win over Liverpool on March 22 was the most-watched early morning Premier League match in U.S. TV history.

The game, highlighted by Juan Matta's(pictured) pair of goals, averaged 950,000 watchers, the most for a Premier League contest that kicked off Stateside before 10 a.m. (ET), according to officials at the programmer.

Viewership topped out in the 10:45 p.m. (a.m.) quarter hour with 1.2 million watchers.

NBC Universo averaged 146,000 viewers for Liverpool-Manchester United, bringing the combined English- and Spanish-language viewership for the match to nearly 1.2 million viewers.

Season to date, NBC Sports Group’s Premier League viewership has grown 10% to an average of 485,000 viewers, and is up 19% among adults 18 to 49.

NBCSN has televised four of the five most-watched Premier League matches in U.S. cable history.

Most-Viewed Premier League Matches on Cable (on record):

Marv Albert is returing to NBC to work as the blow-by-blow announcer for the Premier Boxing Champions series that will bow on the Peacock next month.

Albert will be joined by analyst “Sugar” Ray Leonard for the debut of PBC on NBC in primetime Saturday, March 7 at 8:30 p.m. (ET). Al Michaels will host.

Albert previously worked at NBC Sports for more than 20 years, serving as the primary play-by-play announcer for the NBA on NBC, and he called the action on properties including the NFL, NHL, MLB, college basketball, boxing, and horse racing. 

His debut PBC on NBC boxing show on the broadcast network  -- its first since May 20, 1985 features a pair of bouts -- Keith Thurman vs. Robert Guerrero, and Adrien Broner vs. John Molina Jr. -- live from the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

Beginning with the first show, NBC and NBCSN will present 20 live “PBC on NBC” boxing events in 2015. Within the 20 live shows, NBC Sports Group will present more than 50 hours of PBC coverage, including NBCSN pre- and post-fight programming for NBC telecasts. The Premier Boxing Champions series is created for television by Haymon Boxing.  The PBC on NBC will feature many of today’s brightest stars, in their most compelling matches.   

All PBC on NBC shows will be streamed live on NBC Sports Live Extra via “TV Everywhere,” giving consumers additional value for their subscription service, and making high quality content available to MVPD customers both in and out of the home and on multiple platforms. NBC Sports Live Extrais available for desktops at NBCSports.com/liveextra. The NBC Sports Live Extra app is available at the App Store for iPad and iPod touch, on select devices within Google Play, and on windows phones and tablets.

“I’m so thrilled to be part of boxing’s primetime return to NBC, where I’ve had the good fortune to have been ringside for the call of so many exciting moments,” Albert said.

“Marv’s expertise and big-event voice make him the ideal choice to call boxing’s return to primetime broadcast television,” said Sam Flood, executive producer, NBC Sports and NBCSN. “Through the years, Marv has had many memorable boxing calls, and will now add his passion to the PBC on NBC.”

Additional announcers for NBC Sports Group’s PBC on NBC will be named in the coming weeks.

After a two-year hiatus, the National Hockey League will bring its All-Star Weekend festivities to Columbus, Ohio.

The NHL's best will gather at Nationwide Arena, beginning on Friday, Jan. 23 at 7:30 p.m. (ET), with coverage of the All-Star Fantasy Draft. Coverage continues Saturday night at 7 p.m. with the NHL All-Star Skills Competition, before crescendoing at the league's 60th All-Star Game on Sunday evening at 5 p.m.   Emmy Award-winning play-by-play commentator Mike ''Doc' Emrick, analyst Eddie Olczyk and Emmy Award-winning ‘Inside-the-Glass’ analyst Pierre McGuirecall the action.

Columbus was scheduled to be the site of the 2013 showcase, which was cancelled in the wake of the work stoppage that truncated that season, Last year, the top NHLers were in Sochi, Russia for the Winter Olympics.

NBCSN’s drops the puck on its comprehensive coverage from Columbus with the NHL All-Star Fantasy Draft. Kathryn Tappen and Daren Millard will be joined by Pierre McGuire to break down the selections from Chicago’s Jonathan Toews and Columbus' Nick Foligno, who are serving as captains.

Saturday’s coverage of the All-Star Skills Competition starts at 7 p.m. on NBCSN, with Dave Strader (play-by-play), Olczyk, and McGuire delivering live commentary about the hardest shots, fastest skaters, and best shootout moves.

The weekend-long coverage culminates with NBCSN’s live presentation of the 2015 NHL All-Star Game on Sunday at 5 p.m., with Emrick, Olczyk and McGuire on the call.

From there, NBC Sports Group will turn its hockey gaze west, as  NHL Live, NBC Sports Group's pre- and post-game studio show, will originate from downtown Phoenix during Super Bowl week. Beginning on Tuesday, Jan. 27, the program will be located at “Super Bowl Central,” NBC Sports Group’s primary home for studio programing during Super Bowl week.

The Dan Patrick Show will decamp to Glendale, Ariz.. next week for five days of on-site shows ahead of Super Bowl XLIX.

Beginning Monday, Jan. 26, and continuing through Friday, Jan. 30, The Dan Patrick Show,  the syndicated radio show that is simulcast on NBCSN and  DirecTV's Audience Network, will originate from a specially designed set at the DirecTV Super Fan Stadium, located across the street from University of Phoenix Stadium., the venue for the NFL's title tilt that will be presented by NBC.

Patrick, who also serves as co-host of NBC' Football Night in America, hinted that the set  will have a feel in keeping with the western town the top DBS provider is constructing for the Super Bowl.

"We can't reveal what the set looks like, but let's just say that Bonanza, Shane and Blazing Saddles have nothing on us." said Patrick. "John Wayne and Clint Eastwood would be proud to visit our set."

No word on whether The Danettes -- the show's production crew of Paul Pabst, Patrick O'Connor, Andrew Perloff and Todd Fritz -- will be sporting six-shooters, ten-gallon hats or buckskin outfits

.

“It was a challenging task to convince the Danettes to leave the snow and 30-degree weather in Milford, Conn., and travel to Arizona for Super Bowl week,” said Patrick. “Ultimately, McLovin, Paulie, Seton and Fritzy understood that it was the right thing to do for our viewers and listeners.”

The audience will get to see and hear from a number of high-profile athleties and celebrity guests in town for the Big Game.

The Dan Patrick Show airs weekdays from 9 a.m. – noon (ET) on NBCSN and DirecTV's Audience Network. In addition, the show is simulcast across more than 200 radio stations nationwide, and streams online via NBC Sports Live Extra, NBC Sports Group’s live streaming product for digital, mobile and tablets.