Report: Universal Sports Television Shutting Down
The broadcast rights to the Boston Marathon and others will go to NBC.
Running fans who have enjoyed watching marathons on TV might be a bit disappointed next year. Sports Business Journal is reporting that Universal Sports TV will be shutting down in November.
The cable channel has long been a home for endurance sports, including live broadcasts of the Boston Marathon, the Berlin Marathon, the London Marathon, the IAAF World Championships and many cycling races.
Sports Business Journal reports that NBC, which owns a minority stake in Universal Sports, will pick up the channel’s broadcast rights for those events, though it’s unclear how they will utilize them. In the meantime, there have been rumors swirling about other new cable channels launching that would carry endurance and Olympic sports.
NBC Sports Group emailed a statement to Sports Buisness Journal that said, “We are thrilled to be finalizing an agreement with Universal Sports that will provide NBCUniversal and NBC Sports with an impressive collection of media rights to some of the world’s most prestigious sporting events. We will have more information regarding our plans when the transaction closes in November.”
More: Sports Business Journal