NBCSN To Shut Down At The End Of 2021

Saturday, January 23rd, 2021 -- 10:14 AM

Fans of big NBC sports franchises like the NHL and Premier League will have to follow them to a new home.

Variety reports that NBCUniversal will shutter its NBCSN sports network, and move some of its top sports properties to the USA network in a maneuver executives believe will boost the economics of the general-entertainment cable outlet at a time when new streaming-video hubs are luring bigger audiences. The decision could also push some sports fans to the streaming-video hub Peacock, which has begun to test new kinds of sports-programming opportunities.

NBCUniversal has told its distributors it intends to shut down NBCSN at the end of 2021.

NBCU’s top sports properties include Nascar racing, National Hockey League contests and English Premier League football. USA is not going to become an all-sports network, but might function more like WarnerMedia’s TNT, which has built a durable franchise out of its rights to air National Basketball Association games, does for that media company. 

The decision to shut the network down could, over time, have an effect on NBCU’s portfolio of rights. The NHL’s current deal with NBCUniversal is slated to end after the 2021 season. ESPN has tried to make inroads with the league by broadcasting some games on ESPN Plus, its streaming-video outlet.

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