NBCUniversal is pulling the plug on NBCSN, its cable sports network.
The channel will shut down by the end of 2021, with its signature live sporting events airing instead on USA Network and Peacock.
According to a memo to staff from NBC Sports chairman Pete Bevacqua, NHL games (including Stanley Cup playoff games) and NASCAR races will start running on USA later this year, “with key elements of NBCSN’s programming moving to USA Network and, in some cases, Peacock for 2022 and beyond.”
The channel, which launched in 1995 and went through a few iterations before rebranding as NBC Sports Network in 2012, served as a cable TV home for NHL hockey, live Olympics coverage, Premier League soccer and NASCAR races. It was available in just under 80 million homes, as of 2020.
In his memo, Bevacqua suggests that the move would bolster the viewership for NBC’s marquee sports programming by putting it on USA, which is more widely distributed and has more viewers than NBCSN, while also giving USA a signifiant programming boost.
(Excerpt) Read more in: The Hollywood Reporter