As it takes another step forward in the modern day world of sports, NBC Sports Digital is reaching back in time, name and form.
Named after the Peacock's global anthology franchise from the 1980s, the ad-supported NBC SportsWorld is launching as a microsite within NBCSports.com today with a focus on long-form stories, essays, shorts films and documentaries. NBC SportsWorld will also include select Olympic video from NBC Sports' vast archives. The emphasis on long-form comes in contrast to most of the content fourn on NBCSports.com, which features news and quick reaction articles across the gamut of sports and under specific headings like Pro Football Talk and Hardball Talk.
Rick Cordella, senior vice president and general manager of digital media at NBC Sports Groupsaid the microsite will be the home of exclusive long-form pieces from NBC Sports Digital’s contributors, including award-winning writer Joe Posnanski, the former Sports Illustrated scribe. Joe Prince-Wright of Pro Soccer Talk and Nick Zaccardi of Olympic Talk.
There will also be contributions from writers at NBC Sports Group’s other properties, including the NBC Sports Regional Networks, such as CSN Bay Area’s Ray Ratto; GolfChannel.com’s Rex Hoggard, Randall Mell and Jason Sobel
and RotoWorld.
Planned content for NBC SportsWorld’s launch also includes:
- Posnanski has an exclusive, in-depth discussion with Dale Earnhardt Jr. about his life, career and relationship with his father, as he celebrates his 40th Birthday;
- In advance of Sunday night's 49ers-Broncos game, CSN Bay Area senior insider Ray Ratto connects the dots from Joe Montana and John Elway to Colin Kapernick and Peyton Manniing: and
- Prince-Wright profiles Bob Bradley after spending time in Norway with the former U.S. Men's National Team and current Stabaek (Norwegian first division) coach to get a sense of his most recent and ambitious challenge, becoming the first American head coach of a European top-flight club.
The site will also house documentaries and video features produced by the Emmy Award-winning NBC Olympics and Golf Channel Films divisions. At launch, visitors to NBC SportsWorld will find:
·
*Nancy & Tonya, in which Mary Carillo looks back at the events surrounding the ladies’ figure skating competition at the 1994 Olympic Winter Games with an exclusive sit-down with Nancy Kerrigan and a one-on-one interview with Tonya Harding
*Lokomotiv, narrated by Liev Schreber, which chronicles the tragic events surrounding the crash of an airplane carrying the Lokomotiv Yaroslavl hockey team of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL), killing 44 of 45 people on board, including 37 players, coaches and staff.
·* Long Way Home: The Jessica Long Story, which profiles Russian-born Jessica Long, a world-class swimmer and 12-time Paralympic gold medalist, who was adopted by American parents as she journeys from the States to Siberia to meet her birth family.
*Arnie, which showcases how golfing legend Arnold Palmer revolutionized and transcended the game to become one of the most beloved figures in sports history.
*Payne, the story of how golf champion Payne Stewart lived, from the early days when his father guided and influenced him, his first Ryder Cup win, and the tragic end to his life in a lonely field in South Dakota.
"Our SportsTalk strategy of providing readers with quick, impactful news posts multiple times a day has been incredibly successful. However, we will now complement that plan by tapping into NBC Sports Group’s rich history of long-form storytelling,” said Cordella. “NBC SportsWorld will create an immersive experience for our users with deep, thoughtful multimedia pieces written and produced by our talented roster of contributors from all facets of the NBC Sports Group.”
