NBC Sports is the sports division of the
NBCThe National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
television network. Formerly "a service of
NBC NewsNBC News is the news division of American television network NBC. It first started broadcasting in February 21, 1940. NBC Nightly News has aired from Studio 3B, located on floors 3 of the NBC Studios is the headquarters of the GE Building forms the centerpiece of 30th Rockefeller Center it is...
," it broadcasts a diverse array of programs, including the
Olympic GamesThe Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...
, the
NFLNBC Sunday Night Football is a weekly television broadcast of Sunday evening National Football League games on NBC that began airing on Sunday, August 6, 2006 with the pre-season opening Hall of Fame Game. Al Michaels serves as the play-by-play announcer, with Cris Collinsworth as the color...
, the NHL,
MLSMajor League Soccer is a professional soccer league based in the United States and sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation . The league is composed of 19 teams — 16 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada...
,
Notre Dame footballNotre Dame Fighting Irish football team is the football team of the University of Notre Dame. The team is currently coached by Brian Kelly.Notre Dame competes as an Independent at the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision level, and is a founding member of the Bowl Championship Series coalition. It is an...
, the
PGA TourThe PGA Tour is the organizer of the main men's professional golf tours in the United States and North America...
, the
Triple CrownIn the United States, the "Triple Crown" is usually the Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing, a series of three Thoroughbred horse races for three-year-old horses run in May and early June of each year consisting of the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes, and Belmont Stakes.While Daily Racing Form...
, and the French Open, among others. Other programming from outside producers is also presented on the network under the NBC Sports branding (such as coverage of the
Ironman TriathlonAn Ironman Triathlon is one of a series of long-distance triathlon races organized by the World Triathlon Corporation consisting of a swim, a bike and a marathon run, raced in that order and without a break...
).
Upon NBC's merger with
ComcastComcast Corporation is the largest cable operator, home Internet service provider, and fourth largest home telephone service provider in the United States, providing cable television, broadband Internet, and telephone service to both residential and commercial customers in 39 states and the...
, Comcast's own sports channels were combined under the NBC Sports division, in an arrangement known as the
NBC Sports Group, which also comprises
VersusVersus is a sports-oriented cable television channel in the United States. It was previously known as Outdoor Life Network and was launched on July 1, 1995, focusing on fishing, hunting, and other outdoor sports...
, Golf Channel, and the
Comcast SportsnetComcast SportsNet is a group of regional sports networks in the United States primarily owned by the Comcast cable television company....
regional sports networkIn the United States of America and Canada, a regional sports network, or RSN, is a cable television station that presents sports programming to a local market. The most important programming on an RSN consists of live broadcasts of professional and college sporting events, as those games generate...
s. In August 2011, Comcast announced that
VersusVersus is a sports-oriented cable television channel in the United States. It was previously known as Outdoor Life Network and was launched on July 1, 1995, focusing on fishing, hunting, and other outdoor sports...
would be re-launched as the NBC Sports Network on January 2, 2012.
Early years
NBC Sports’ history can be traced back to May 17, 1939, when experimental television station W2XBS in
New YorkNew York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
(which would eventually become WNBC) televised an intercollegiate baseball game between
ColumbiaThe Columbia University Lions are the collective athletic teams and their members from Columbia University, an Ivy League institution in New York City, United States. The current director of athletics is M...
and
PrincetonThe Princeton Tigers are the athletic teams of Princeton University. The school sponsors 31 varsity sports. The school has won several NCAA national championships, including one in men's fencing, six in men's lacrosse, three in women's lacrosse, and eight in men's golf...
. That year, W2XBS would also televise a boxing match between former heavyweight champion Max Baer and
Lou NovaLou Nova aka Cosmic punch was an American boxer and actor. Born in Los Angeles, California, the Nova was the U.S. and World Amateur Boxing Champion in 1935. After turning pro, he remained undefeated in his first 22 matches, and won 40 fights in total...
at
Madison Square GardenMadison Square Garden, often abbreviated as MSG and known colloquially as The Garden, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the New York City borough of Manhattan and located at 8th Avenue, between 31st and 33rd Streets, situated on top of Pennsylvania Station.Opened on February 11, 1968, it is the...
, a double header between the
Cincinnati RedsThe Cincinnati Reds are a Major League Baseball team based in Cincinnati, Ohio. They are members of the National League Central Division. The club was established in 1882 as a charter member of the American Association and joined the National League in 1890....
and Brooklyn Dodgers from
Ebbets FieldEbbets Field was a Major League Baseball park located in the Flatbush section of Brooklyn, New York, USA, on a city block which is now considered to be part of the Crown Heights neighborhood. It was the home of the Brooklyn Dodgers of the National League. It was also a venue for professional football...
, and a professional football game between the
Philadelphia EaglesThe Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
and the
Brooklyn DodgersThe Brooklyn Dodgers were an American football team that played in the National Football League from 1930 to 1943, and in 1944 as the Brooklyn Tigers. The team played its home games at Ebbets Field. In 1945, because of financial difficulties, the team was merged with the Boston Yanks...
of the
National Football LeagueThe National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
. All were firsts for the respective sports. After the
warWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, sporting events were staples of the nascent NBC Television Network. NBC televised the Army–Navy Game in 1945, hailed by sports writers at the time as “The Game of the Century.” In 1946, the
Cavalcade of SportsThe Gillette Cavalcade of Sports was an American network radio program and later television program that included broadcasts of a variety of sports, although it is primarily remembered by many for its focus on boxing.-Overview and background:...
, a primetime boxing program, debuted. NBC would televise boxing, usually on Friday nights, until canceling the program in
1960The year 1960 in television involved some significant events.Below is a list of television-related events in 1960.For the American TV schedule, please see: 1960-61 American network television schedule.-Events:...
. In
1947-Statistical leaders:-Events:On April 15, Jackie Robinson of the Brooklyn Dodgers became the first modern day black player to play in the major leagues....
, NBC televised Games 1 & 5 of the
World SeriesThe 1947 World Series matched the New York Yankees against the Brooklyn Dodgers, with the Yankees winning the Series in seven games for their first title since , and the eleventh championship in team history...
in the
New York Metropolitan AreaThe New York metropolitan area, also known as Greater New York, or the Tri-State area, is the region that composes of New York City and the surrounding region...
(CBS televised Games 3 & 4, while
DuMontThe DuMont Television Network, also known as the DuMont Network, DuMont, Du Mont, or Dumont was one of the world's pioneer commercial television networks, rivalling NBC for the distinction of being first overall. It began operation in the United States in 1946. It was owned by DuMont...
televised Games 2, 6, & 7).
1950s
Beginning in
1950The 1950 World Series was the 47th World Series between the American and National Leagues for the championship of Major League Baseball. The Philadelphia Phillies as 1950 champions of the National League and the New York Yankees, as 1950 American League champions, competed to win a best-of-seven...
, NBC Sports became the exclusive broadcaster of the World Series for
a quarter centuryThe 1976 World Series matched the defending champion Cincinnati Reds of the National League against the New York Yankees of the American League, with the Reds sweeping the Series to repeat. The Reds became the only team to sweep an entire multi-tier postseason. The Reds are also the last National...
. In
1957The 1957 Major League Baseball season involved the Brooklyn Dodgers and New York Giants playing their final seasons as New York-based franchises before their moves to California for the following season, leaving New York without a National League team until the birth of the Mets in...
, the network began televising the
Game of the Week. Except for the
1965 seasonThe 1965 Major League Baseball season was held between the American and National Leagues. The Houston Colt .45s became the Astros, as they moved from Colts Stadium to the new Astrodome, becoming the first team to play their home games indoors, rather than outdoors. It was also the final season...
, NBC would televise Saturday afternoon games for the next three decades. The network expanded its sports lineup to include the NBA,
collegeCollege football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
and
professional footballNFL on NBC is the brand given to NBC Sports coverage of National Football League games until 1998, when NBC lost the NFL American Football Conference rights to CBS...
, as well as championship events. In 1952, NBC became the broadcast home of the
Rose BowlThe 1952 Rose Bowl was a college football bowl game played on January 1, 1952 at the end of the 1951 college football season. It was the 38th Rose Bowl Game. It holds the distinction of being the first nationally televised college football game...
; a relationship that lasted for
37 yearsThe 1988 Rose Bowl was a college football bowl game played on January 1, 1988. It was the 74th Rose Bowl Game. The Michigan State Spartans defeated the USC Trojans 20-17. Michigan State Linebacker Percy Snow was named the Rose Bowl Player Of The Game. This was the last Rose Bowl game to air on NBC...
. In
1955The 1955 NFL season was the 36th regular season of the National Football League. NBC paid $100,000 to replace DuMont as the national television network for the NFL Championship Game...
, the network paid $100,000 to air the
NFL Championship. An employee of NBC played a small part in “The Greatest Game Ever Played.” During overtime of the
1958 NFL ChampionshipThe 1958 National Football League Championship Game was played on December 28, 1958 at Yankee Stadium in New York City. It was the first ever National Football League playoff game to go into sudden death overtime. The final score was Baltimore Colts 23, New York Giants 17. The game has since...
, NBC lost its feed from
Yankee StadiumYankee Stadium was a stadium located in The Bronx in New York City, New York. It was the home ballpark of the New York Yankees from 1923 to 1973 and from 1976 to 2008. The stadium hosted 6,581 Yankees regular season home games during its 85-year history. It was also the former home of the New York...
. A technician ran onto the field and stopped play long enough for the feed to be restored. The game was a watershed moment in the history of the NFL, establishing professional football as a nationally popular television property and beginning the upward surge of the league’s popularity.
1960s
CBSThe NFL on CBS is the brand name of the CBS television network's coverage of the National Football League's American Football Conference games, produced by CBS Sports.-Market coverage and television policies:...
would take over the exclusive broadcast rights of the NFL, including the Championship Game, in
1964The 1964 NFL season was the 45th regular season of the National Football League. Before the season started, NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle reinstated Green Bay Packers running back Paul Hornung and Detroit Lions defensive tackle Alex Karras, who had been suspended for the 1963 season due to...
. The following year, NBC obtained the broadcast rights of the upstart
American Football LeagueThe American Football League was a major American Professional Football league that operated from 1960 until 1969, when the established National Football League merged with it. The upstart AFL operated in direct competition with the more established NFL throughout its existence...
. In 1966, the two leagues agreed to merge. As part of the merger, the two leagues’ champions would play a World Championship Game, eventually renamed the
Super BowlThe Super Bowl is the championship game of the National Football League , the highest level of professional American football in the United States, culminating a season that begins in the late summer of the previous calendar year. The Super Bowl uses Roman numerals to identify each game, rather...
. Rather than award the broadcast rights of the
gameThe First AFL-NFL World Championship Game in professional American football, later known as Super Bowl I and referred to in some contemporary reports as the Supergame, was played on January 15, 1967 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles, California.The National Football League ...
to either CBS or NBC, NFL Commissioner
Pete RozelleAlvin Ray "Pete" Rozelle was the commissioner of the National Football League from January 1960 to November 1989, when he retired from office. Rozelle is credited with making the NFL into one of the most successful sports leagues in the world....
decided to have both networks televise the game. NBC commentators
Curt GowdyCurtis Edward "Curt" Gowdy was an American sportscaster, well known as the longtime "voice" of the Boston Red Sox and for his coverage of many nationally-televised sporting events, primarily for NBC Sports in the 1960s and 1970s.-Early years:The son of a manager for the Union Pacific railroad,...
and
Paul ChristmanPaul Joseph Christman was an American football player and a member of the College Football Hall of Fame. He played college football for the University of Missouri and professionally for the Chicago Cardinals and Green Bay Packers.-Collegiate career:A St...
called the game, while CBS produced the telecast that aired on both networks. In subsequent years, the Super Bowl would alternate between NBC and CBS. After the merger, NBC would broadcast games from the
American Football ConferenceThe American Football Conference is one of the two conferences of the National Football League . This conference and its counterpart, the National Football Conference , currently contain 16 teams each, making up the 32 teams of the NFL....
, composed of the former AFL teams plus three teams from the old NFL.
1970s
In
1971The 1971 Major League Baseball season was also the final season for the Senators in Washington, D.C., before the team's relocation to the Dallas-Fort Worth suburb Arlington for the following season, as the Texas Rangers, leaving the Nation's capital without a baseball team of their own until...
, at the behest of Commissioner
Bowie KuhnBowie Kent Kuhn was an American lawyer and sports administrator who served as the fifth Commissioner of Major League Baseball from February 4, , to September 30,...
, NBC televised game 4 of the
World SeriesThe 1971 World Series matched the defending champion Baltimore Orioles against the Pittsburgh Pirates, with the Pirates winning in seven games. Game 4, played in Pittsburgh, was the first-ever World Series game scheduled to be played at night....
in primetime. It was the first time a Series game had been played at night and the game attracted an audience of 61 million people. Starting the next
seasonThe 1972 Major League Baseball season was the first to have games cancelled by a player strike. It was also the last season in which American League pitchers would hit for themselves on a regular basis; the designated hitter rule would go into effect the following season.-Labor strife and more...
, all weekday Series games would be played at or after 8:00PM ET and NBC would begin broadcasting games on
Monday nightsMonday Night Baseball is a live game telecast of Major League Baseball that airs most Monday nights during the regular season on ESPN and is also available in high definition on ESPNHD. The official name of the game is Monday Night Baseball presented by Vonage. The game starts at 7 p.m...
, during the summer when reruns of other shows would otherwise be broadcast. On
April 8, 1974The 1974 Major League Baseball season was held between the American and National Leagues. The Oakland Athletics won their third consecutive World Series, defeating the Los Angeles Dodgers four games to one....
, NBC televised a game between the
Los Angeles DodgersThe Los Angeles Dodgers are a professional baseball team based in Los Angeles, California. The Dodgers are members of Major League Baseball's National League West Division. Established in 1883, the team originated in Brooklyn, New York, where it was known by a number of nicknames before becoming...
and the
Atlanta BravesThe Atlanta Braves are a professional baseball club based in Atlanta, Georgia. The Braves are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League. The Braves have played in Turner Field since 1997....
in which Hank Aaron of the Braves hit his 715th career home run, breaking the career mark previously held by
Babe RuthGeorge Herman Ruth, Jr. , best known as "Babe" Ruth and nicknamed "the Bambino" and "the Sultan of Swat", was an American Major League baseball player from 1914–1935...
. In
1972-NHL awards:-All-Star teams:-Scoring leaders:-Leading goaltenders:Note: GP = Games played; Min - Minutes Played; GA = Goals Against; GAA = Goals Against Average; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; SO = Shutouts-Debuts:...
, NBC became the broadcast home of the
National Hockey LeagueThe National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...
. (NBC previously televised the 1966 Stanley Cup Playoffs, which marked the first time hockey games were televised in
colorColor television is part of the history of television, the technology of television and practices associated with television's transmission of moving images in color video....
.) Among the innovations introduced by NBC was
Peter PuckPeter Puck is a hockey puck-shaped cartoon character. The puck, whose animated adventures appeared on both NBC's Hockey Game of the Week and CBC's Hockey Night in Canada during the 1970s, explained ice hockey rules, equipment and the sport's history to the home viewing audience...
, an animated character in the form of a hockey puck, who explained the rules of hockey to unfamiliar television viewers. Also, the network requested that players wear names on the backs of their jerseys for the
NBC Hockey Game of the Week. Nameplates would become standard in the NHL. Beginning in 1969, NBC televised college basketball, including the
NCAA TournamentThe NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship is a single-elimination tournament held each spring in the United States, featuring 68 college basketball teams, to determine the national championship in the top tier of college basketball...
. In 1979, NBC televised the NCAA Championship that pitted future NBA rivals
Larry BirdLarry Joe Bird is a former American NBA basketball player and coach. Drafted into the NBA sixth overall by the Boston Celtics in 1978, Bird started at small forward and power forward for thirteen seasons, spearheading one of the NBA's most formidable frontcourts that included center Robert Parish...
and
Magic JohnsonEarvin "Magic" Johnson Jr. is a retired American professional basketball player who played point guard for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association . After winning championships in high school and college, Johnson was selected first overall in the 1979 NBA Draft by the Lakers...
. Johnson’s
Michigan State SpartansThe Michigan State Spartans are the athletic team that represent Michigan State University. The school's athletic program includes 25 varsity sports teams. Their mascot is a Spartan warrior named Sparty, and the school colors are green and white...
defeated Bird’s
Indiana State SycamoresThe Indiana State University Sycamores are the intercollegiate athletic teams of Indiana State University. They are members of the Missouri Valley Conference, joining in the 1977-78 academic year; past conference memberships include the Indiana College Athletic League , the Indiana Intercollegiate...
75-64. The game earned a 24.1 rating, the highest ever for a college basketball game.
1980s
By this time, NBC was mired in third place in the ratings. Sports remained a valuable television commodity for the network. In addition to the typically massive audience that watched the Super Bowl, NBC’s broadcasts of the
1978-Game 1:Tuesday, October 10, 1978 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, CaliforniaWith Yankee ace Ron Guidry unavailable at least until Game 3, the Dodgers pounded twenty-game winner Ed Figueroa. Figueroa left after two innings, allowing home runs to Dusty Baker and Davey Lopes. Lopes would add a...
and
1980 World Series-Game 1:Tuesday, October 14, 1980 at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia, PennsylvaniaThe Royals jumped on Philly rookie starter Bob Walk early with a pair of two run bombs—one by Amos Otis in the second and another by Willie Aikens in the third...
each earned a 32.8 rating, with the former being watched by an average of 44 million people and the latter 42 million. This powerful sports lineup, coupled with a resurgent primetime schedule featuring hit shows like
The Cosby ShowThe Cosby Show is an American television situation comedy starring Bill Cosby, which aired for eight seasons on NBC from September 20, 1984 until April 30, 1992...
and
CheersCheers is an American situation comedy television series that ran for 11 seasons from 1982 to 1993. It was produced by Charles/Burrows/Charles Productions, in association with Paramount Network Television for NBC, and was created by the team of James Burrows, Glen Charles, and Les Charles...
, would put NBC back on top of the ratings by the middle of the decade. In December 1988, CBS obtained the exclusive broadcast rights of Major League Baseball, outbidding NBC and ABC. After 43 years, NBC’s tenure as the home of baseball came to an end. In
1989For the American TV schedule, see: 1989–90 United States network television schedule.The year 1989 in television involved some significant events.Below is a list of television-related events in 1989.-Events:-Debuts:-1950s:...
, former
ABC SportsESPN on ABC is the brand used for sports programming on the ABC television network. Officially the broadcast network retains its own sports division; however, for all practical purposes, ABC's sports division has been merged with ESPN, a sports cable network majority-owned by ABC's parent, The...
and
Saturday Night LiveSaturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...
producer
Dick EbersolDuncan "Dick" Ebersol is an American television executive and a senior adviser for . He had previously been the chairman of NBC Sports, producing large scale television events such as the Olympic Games and National Football League broadcasts....
became president of NBC Sports. Ebersol’s early tenure at NBC Sports was highlighted by a string of sports-property acquisitions and renewals, including the Olympics, NFL, NBA, & Notre Dame football.
1990s
After CBS had wrested baseball from NBC, the latter obtained the broadcast rights of the National Basketball Association in a four-year, $600 million deal. The '90s would be an era of unprecedented popularity for the NBA, spearheaded by the
Chicago BullsThe Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago, Illinois, playing in the Central Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association . The team was founded in 1966. They play their home games at the United Center...
dynastyA sports dynasty is a team that dominates their sport or league for multiple seasons or years. Such dominance is often only realized in retrospect...
of
Michael JordanMichael Jeffrey Jordan is a former American professional basketball player, active entrepreneur, and majority owner of the Charlotte Bobcats...
. In
1991The 1991 NCAA Division I-A football season ended with a split champion for the second consecutive season. Both the Miami Hurricanes and the Washington Huskies finished the season undefeated and with the top ranking in a nationally recognized poll...
, NBC obtained the rights to
Notre DameNotre Dame Fighting Irish football team is the football team of the University of Notre Dame. The team is currently coached by Brian Kelly.Notre Dame competes as an Independent at the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision level, and is a founding member of the Bowl Championship Series coalition. It is an...
home games, the first time an individual college football team had its own broadcast agreement.
In
1994The 1994 Major League Baseball season ended with the infamous players strike ending the season on August 11, 1994.-Strike:As a result of a players' strike, the MLB season ended prematurely on August 11, 1994. No postseason was played...
, after a four year hiatus, Major League Baseball returned to NBC as part of a new joint-venture with ABC called
The Baseball NetworkThe Baseball Network was a short-lived television broadcasting joint venture between ABC, NBC, and Major League Baseball. Under the arrangement, beginning in the 1994 season, the league produced its own in-house telecasts of games, which were then brokered to air on ABC and NBC...
, a broadcast arrangement where the league produced its own telecasts and split advertising revenue with NBC and ABC. The two networks would televise regional games on Friday and Saturday nights, and would alternate coverage of the All Star Game, the newly created
Division SeriesIn baseball, the Division Series is the official name for the first round of the Major League Baseball playoffs. Currently, a total of four series are played in this opening round, two each for both the American League and the National League.-1981 season:...
,
League Championship SeriesThe League Championship Series is the official name for a round of postseason play in Major League Baseball which has been conducted since 1969...
, and
World SeriesThe World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball, played between the American League and National League champions since 1903. The winner of the World Series championship is determined through a best-of-seven playoff and awarded the Commissioner's Trophy...
. The 1994 Major League Baseball strike disrupted the plan, which proved unpopular with fans, and it was abandoned after the
1995 seasonDue to the 1994 Major League Baseball strike which carried into the 1995 season, a shortened 144 game schedule commenced on April 25, when the Florida Marlins played host to the Los Angeles Dodgers.-Regular season:...
. NBC would continue broadcasting baseball, albeit on a reduced basis. It was during this period, with the broadcast rights of the
NFLNFL on NBC is the brand given to NBC Sports coverage of National Football League games until 1998, when NBC lost the NFL American Football Conference rights to CBS...
, NBA, Major League Baseball, and the
OlympicsThe 1996 Summer Olympics of Atlanta, officially known as the Games of the XXVI Olympiad and unofficially known as the Centennial Olympics, was an international multi-sport event which was celebrated in 1996 in Atlanta, Georgia, United States....
, that the network adopted the mantle of “America’s Sports Leader.”
During the 1995-96 television season, for the only time in history, the World Series, Super Bowl, NBA Finals, and Summer Olympics were telecast by the same network. It was following this run in 1996 that
The Sporting NewsSporting News is an American-based sports magazine. It was established in 1886, and it became the dominant American publication covering baseball — so much so that it acquired the nickname "The Bible of Baseball"...
named Ebersol the Most Powerful Person in Sports. In
1998The 1998 NFL season was the 79th regular season of the National Football League.The Tennessee Oilers moved their home games from Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium in Memphis to Vanderbilt Stadium in Nashville, still awaiting construction on a new stadium in Nashville.This was the first season that CBS...
, CBS would take over the AFC rights from NBC, ending the network’s 38-year tenure with the NFL. CBS had previously lost the NFC rights to upstart network
FoxNFL on Fox is the brand name of the Fox Broadcasting Company's coverage of the National Football League's National Football Conference games, produced by Fox Sports...
, and was by that point struggling in the ratings.
2000s
In
2000The 2000 Major League Baseball season ended with the New York Yankees defeating the New York Mets in Game 5 of the World Series, known as the Subway Series because fans could take the Subway to and from every game of the Series. An all-time record 5,693 home runs were hit during the regular season...
, NBC declined to renew its broadcast agreement with Major League Baseball. In 2002, it was additionally outbid by ESPN and ABC for the NBA's next broadcast deal, ending the league's twelve year run on NBC.
During this era, NBC experimented with broadcasting emerging sports. In 2001, the network partnered with the
World Wrestling FederationWorld Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. is an American publicly traded, privately controlled entertainment company dealing primarily in professional wrestling, with major revenue sources also coming from film, music, product licensing, and direct product sales...
to establish the
XFLThe XFL was a professional American football league that played for one season in 2001. The league was founded by Vince McMahon, the Chairman of the Board of Directors of WWE...
a new football league which introduced modified rules and debuted to tremendous, but short-lived fanfare, only lasting one season. In
2003The 2003 Arena Football League season was the 17th season of the Arena Football League. The league champions were the Tampa Bay Storm, who defeated the Arizona Rattlers in ArenaBowl XVII. The AFL expanded its season to a 16-game schedule...
, NBC obtained the broadcast rights and a minority interest in the Arena Football League. The network televised weekly games on a regional basis, as well as the entire playoffs. The deal lasted four years, after which the league and NBC parted ways.
Beginning with the 1999 Pennzoil 400, NBC began its foray into NASCAR.
NBCNASCAR on NBC, identified by its on-air logo as NBC NASCAR, was a series of NASCAR races that aired on the network from 2001-2006. Prior to the contract that gave NBC broadcast rights the network aired races as early as the 1964 World 600...
, along with
Fox, FXNASCAR on Fox is the Emmy-winning branding used for Fox Sports's broadcasts of NASCAR races airing on the Fox network since 2001. The production has been in high-definition since 2005.-Background:...
, and
TNTNASCAR on TNT is the tagname for any NASCAR series race that has been broadcast on Turner Network Television by Turner Sports.-Prior to 2001:...
, obtained the broadcast rights of the top two series in a six-year deal, beginning in
2001The 2001 NASCAR Winston Cup season began on February 11 at the Daytona International Speedway and ended on November 23 at the New Hampshire International Speedway. Jeff Gordon of Hendrick Motorsports was crowned series champion for the fourth time in seven years. The season was marked by tragedy,...
. NBC televised the second half of the season and alternated coverage of the
Daytona 500The Daytona 500 is a -long NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race held annually at the Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. It is one of four restrictor plate races on the Cup schedule....
with Fox. NBC announced in December 2005 that it would not renew its agreement. In 2001, NBC obtained the broadcast rights to horse racing's
Triple CrownIn the United States, the "Triple Crown" is usually the Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing, a series of three Thoroughbred horse races for three-year-old horses run in May and early June of each year consisting of the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes, and Belmont Stakes.While Daily Racing Form...
in a five year deal.
In 2004, NBC reached a broadcast agreement with the NHL. The revenue-sharing deal called for the two sides to split advertising revenue after the network recouped expenses. NBC televised regular season games at first on Saturday afternoons before moving the telecast to Sundays, Saturday and Sunday afternoon playoff games, and up to five games of the
Stanley Cup FinalThe Stanley Cup is an ice hockey club trophy, awarded annually to the National Hockey League playoffs champion after the conclusion of the Stanley Cup Finals. It has been referred to as The Cup, Lord Stanley's Cup, The Holy Grail, or facetiously as Lord Stanley's Mug...
. Additionally in 2008, NBC broadcast the first Winter Classic, an outdoor NHL game played on New Year's Day at
Ralph Wilson StadiumRalph Wilson Stadium is a football stadium, located in the town of Orchard Park, a suburb of Buffalo, New York. It is the home for the Buffalo Bills, of the NFL...
, a success in attendance and television ratings. The following year's Winter Classic would become the most-watched regular season game in 34 years. In addition to this regular season success, Game 7 of the 2009 Stanley Cup Final was watched by an average of 8 million viewers, the most for an NHL game in 36 years.
The NFL also returned to NBC in 2006 after a eight year hiatus, broadcasting the league's new flagship
Sunday Night FootballNBC Sunday Night Football is a weekly television broadcast of Sunday evening National Football League games on NBC that began airing on Sunday, August 6, 2006 with the pre-season opening Hall of Fame Game. Al Michaels serves as the play-by-play announcer, with Cris Collinsworth as the color...
game, along with select post-season games and
Super Bowls XLIIISuper Bowl XLIII was an American football game pitting the American Football Conference champion Pittsburgh Steelers against the National Football Conference champion Arizona Cardinals to decide the National Football League champion for the 2008 season. The game was played on February 1, 2009,...
and
XLVISuper Bowl XLVI will be the 46th annual edition of the Super Bowl in American football, and the 42nd annual championship game of the modern-era National Football League . It will be held on February 5, 2012 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana. This will be the first Super Bowl to be...
.
2011: Comcast Merger and the NBC Sports Network
In January 2011,
ComcastComcast Corporation is the largest cable operator, home Internet service provider, and fourth largest home telephone service provider in the United States, providing cable television, broadband Internet, and telephone service to both residential and commercial customers in 39 states and the...
closed its acquisition of a majority share in
NBC UniversalNBCUniversal Media, LLC is a media and entertainment company engaged in the production and marketing of entertainment, news, and information products and services to a global customer base...
. As a result of the merger, the operations of Comcast's existing sports networks, such as Golf Channel and
VersusVersus is a sports-oriented cable television channel in the United States. It was previously known as Outdoor Life Network and was launched on July 1, 1995, focusing on fishing, hunting, and other outdoor sports...
, were merged into a new division known as the
NBC Sports Group. NBC Sports' senior vice president Mike McCarley additionally became Golf Channel's new head. NBC Sports' golf production unit was merged with Golf Channel, along with NBC's on-air staff, and that unit is now known under the branding of
Golf Channel on NBC.
The merger also helped influence an extension of NBC Sports' contract with the NHL; the 10-year deal valued at close to $2 billion dollars covers rights for both NBC and Versus, introduces a new primetime "
Black FridayBlack Friday is the day following Thanksgiving Day in the United States, traditionally the beginning of the Christmas shopping season. On this day, most major retailers open extremely early, often at 4 a.m., or earlier, and offer promotional sales to kick off the shopping season, similar to Boxing...
" game, and national coverage for every game in the
Stanley Cup playoffsThe Stanley Cup playoffs is an elimination tournament in the National Hockey League consisting of four rounds of best-of-seven series. Eight teams from each of the league's two conferences qualify for the playoffs based on regular season records...
.
On July 3, 2011,
ESPNEntertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
obtained the exclusive broadcast rights of
WimbledonThe Championships, Wimbledon, or simply Wimbledon , is the oldest tennis tournament in the world, considered by many to be the most prestigious. It has been held at the All England Club in Wimbledon, London since 1877. It is one of the four Grand Slam tennis tournaments, the other three Majors...
, in a 12-year deal. NBC had televised The Championships since 1969.
On August 10, 2011,
Major League SoccerMajor League Soccer is a professional soccer league based in the United States and sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation . The league is composed of 19 teams — 16 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada...
signed a three-year deal with NBC to broadcast MLS matches on both the main NBC network and the NBC Sports Network, which will begin with the 2012 season.
As part of the merger, it was also revealed that Versus and the existing
Comcast SportsNetComcast SportsNet is a group of regional sports networks in the United States primarily owned by the Comcast cable television company....
regional sports networkIn the United States of America and Canada, a regional sports network, or RSN, is a cable television station that presents sports programming to a local market. The most important programming on an RSN consists of live broadcasts of professional and college sporting events, as those games generate...
s would also be re-launched under the NBC Sports banner within the year. The new name for Versus as of the beginning of 2012, the NBC Sports Network, was revealed on August 1, 2011. NBC Sports will adopt a new logo as well. The re-launch will coincide with multiple major events in January to be aired on NBC, where the newly re-launched network will be aggressively promoted. Personnel from NBC Sports will be shared between the two channels, and the network's telecasts will be produced in a similar style to those aired by NBC.
However, despite now being a part of NBC Sports, and reports suggesting that this would occur, the Comcast SportsNet channels will not be re-branded under the NBC name, as was originally planned. However, they will eventually use graphics based on those used by NBC Sports..
Olympics
In 1964, NBC televised the
Summer OlympicsThe 1964 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XVIII Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event held in Tokyo, Japan in 1964. Tokyo had been awarded with the organization of the 1940 Summer Olympics, but this honor was subsequently passed to Helsinki because of Japan's...
in Tokyo; in 1972, NBC televised the
Winter GamesThe 1972 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XI Olympic Winter Games, were a winter multi-sport event which was celebrated from February 3 to February 13, 1972 in Sapporo, Hokkaidō, Japan...
for the first time. 1980 would prove to be a stinging disappointment for the network. After contentious negotiations, NBC won the broadcast rights to the
Games in MoscowThe 1980 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event celebrated in Moscow in the Soviet Union. In addition, the yachting events were held in Tallinn, and some of the preliminary matches and the quarter-finals of the football tournament...
. After the
Soviet UnionThe Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
invaded
AfghanistanAfghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
, the United States and 64 other countries boycotted. NBC substantially scaled back its coverage and lost heavily in advertising revenue. In 1988, NBC televised the
Summer OlympicsThe 1988 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIV Olympiad, were an all international multi-sport events celebrated from September 17 to October 2, 1988 in Seoul, South Korea. They were the second summer Olympic Games to be held in Asia and the first since the 1964 Summer Olympics...
in Seoul. Since then, it has become “America’s Olympic Network,” televising every Summer Olympic Games since Seoul, as well as the Winter Games in
2002The 2002 Winter Olympics, officially the XIX Olympic Winter Games, were a winter multi-sport event that was celebrated in February 2002 in and around Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. Approximately 2,400 athletes from 77 nations participated in 78 events in fifteen disciplines, held throughout...
,
2006The 2006 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XX Olympic Winter Games, was a winter multi-sport event which was celebrated in Turin, Italy from February 10, 2006, through February 26, 2006. This marked the second time Italy hosted the Olympic Winter Games, the first being the VII Olympic Winter...
, and
2010The 2010 Winter Olympics, officially the XXI Olympic Winter Games or the 21st Winter Olympics, were a major international multi-sport event held from February 12–28, 2010, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, with some events held in the suburbs of Richmond, West Vancouver and the University...
. NBC has aired 12 Summer and Winter Olympics, more than any other network and the Games have become an integral part of the network. In 1998, Ebersol was named president of NBC Sports and Olympics. Recently, the
2010 GamesThe 2010 Winter Olympics, officially the XXI Olympic Winter Games or the 21st Winter Olympics, were a major international multi-sport event held from February 12–28, 2010, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, with some events held in the suburbs of Richmond, West Vancouver and the University...
in Vancouver were watched by a total of 190 million viewers, including 27.6 million viewers of the Gold Medal Game in men’s hockey.
Current programs
- NFL on NBC
NFL on NBC is the brand given to NBC Sports coverage of National Football League games until 1998, when NBC lost the NFL American Football Conference rights to CBS...
: 1955The 1955 NFL season was the 36th regular season of the National Football League. NBC paid $100,000 to replace DuMont as the national television network for the NFL Championship Game...
–1963The 1963 NFL season was the 44th regular season of the National Football League. On April 17, NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle indefinitely suspended Green Bay Packers running back Paul Hornung and Detroit Lions defensive tackle Alex Karras for gambling on their own teams, as well as other NFL games;...
(NFL Championship Game), 1970The 1970 NFL season was the 51st regular season of the National Football League, and the first one after the AFL-NFL Merger.The merger forced a realignment between the combined league's clubs. Because there were 16 NFL teams and 10 AFL teams, three teams needed to transfer to balance the two new...
-1997The 1997 NFL season was the 78th regular season of the National Football League. The Oilers relocated from Houston, Texas to Nashville, Tennessee...
(AFCThe American Football Conference is one of the two conferences of the National Football League . This conference and its counterpart, the National Football Conference , currently contain 16 teams each, making up the 32 teams of the NFL....
), 2006The 2006 NFL season was the 87th regular season of the National Football League.Regular season play was held from September 7 to December 31, 2006...
–present (NBC Sunday Night FootballNBC Sunday Night Football is a weekly television broadcast of Sunday evening National Football League games on NBC that began airing on Sunday, August 6, 2006 with the pre-season opening Hall of Fame Game. Al Michaels serves as the play-by-play announcer, with Cris Collinsworth as the color...
)
- Super Bowl
The Super Bowl is the championship game of the National Football League , the highest level of professional American football in the United States, culminating a season that begins in the late summer of the previous calendar year. The Super Bowl uses Roman numerals to identify each game, rather...
s IThe First AFL-NFL World Championship Game in professional American football, later known as Super Bowl I and referred to in some contemporary reports as the Supergame, was played on January 15, 1967 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles, California.The National Football League ...
(shared with CBS), IIISuper Bowl III was the third AFL-NFL Championship Game in professional American football, but the first to officially bear the name "Super Bowl". This game is regarded as one of the greatest upsets in sports history...
, VSuper Bowl V was an American football game played on January 17, 1971, at the Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida, to decide the National Football League champion following the 1970 regular season...
, VIISuper Bowl VII was an American football game played on January 14, 1973, at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles, California, to decide the National Football League champion following the 1972 regular season...
, IXSuper Bowl IX was an American football game played on January 12, 1975 at Tulane Stadium in New Orleans, Louisiana to decide the National Football League champion following the 1974 regular season. It would be the last pro game at legendary Tulane Stadium...
, XISuper Bowl XI was a football game played on January 9, 1977 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California to decide the National Football League champion following the 1976 regular season...
, XIIISuper Bowl XIII was an American football game played on January 21, 1979 at the Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida to decide the National Football League champion following the 1978 regular season...
, XVSuper Bowl XV was an American football game played on January 25, 1981 at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana to decide the National Football League champion following the 1980 regular season...
, XVIISuper Bowl XVII was an American football game played on January 30, 1983 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California to decide the National Football League champion following the strike-shortened 1982 regular season...
, XXSuper Bowl XX was an American football championship game played on January 26, 1986 at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana to decide the National Football League champion following the 1985 regular season...
, XXIIISuper Bowl XXIII was an American football game played on January 22, 1989 at Joe Robbie Stadium in Miami, Florida to decide the National Football League champion following the 1988 regular season. This was the first Super Bowl hosted in the Miami area in 10 years, and the first in Miami not held...
, XXVIISuper Bowl XXVII was a football game played on January 31, 1993 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California to decide the National Football League champion following the 1992 regular season. The National Football Conference champion Dallas Cowboys defeated the American Football Conference champion...
, XXVIIISuper Bowl XXVIII was an American football game played on January 30, 1994, at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, Georgia, to decide the National Football League champion following the 1993 regular season. The National Football Conference champion Dallas Cowboys defeated the American Football...
, XXXSuper Bowl XXX was an American football game played on January 28, 1996 at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Arizona to decide the National Football League champion following the 1995 regular season...
, XXXIISuper Bowl XXXII was an American football game played on January 25, 1998 at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, California to decide the National Football League champion following the 1997 regular season...
, XLIIISuper Bowl XLIII was an American football game pitting the American Football Conference champion Pittsburgh Steelers against the National Football Conference champion Arizona Cardinals to decide the National Football League champion for the 2008 season. The game was played on February 1, 2009,...
, and XLVISuper Bowl XLVI will be the 46th annual edition of the Super Bowl in American football, and the 42nd annual championship game of the modern-era National Football League . It will be held on February 5, 2012 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana. This will be the first Super Bowl to be...
- Pregame
The NBC television network's pregame/studio coverage for their National Football League coverage has had a rather inconsistent history in comparison to The NFL Today on CBS and Fox NFL Sunday on the Fox Broadcasting Company...
: Grandstand (1975The 1975 NFL season was the 56th regular season of the National Football League. It was also the first time that featured an entire season with no games ending in a tie. The league made two significant changes to increase the appeal of the game:...
-1976The 1976 NFL season was the 57th regular season of the National Football League. The league expanded to 28 teams with the addition of the Seattle Seahawks and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers...
), NFL {Insert Year} (1977The 1977 NFL season was the 58th regular season of the National Football League. The Seattle Seahawks were placed in the AFC West while the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were slotted in the NFC Central....
–1986The 1986 NFL season was the 67th regular season of the National Football League. The season ended with Super Bowl XXI when the New York Giants defeated the Denver Broncos to win their first league title in 30 years.-Major rule changes:...
), NFL Live! (1987The 1987 NFL season was the 68th regular season of the National Football League. A 24-day players' strike reduced the 16-game season to 15. The games that were scheduled for the third week of the season were canceled, but the games for weeks 4–6 were played with replacement players...
–1994The 1994 NFL season was the 75th regular season of the National Football League. To honor the NFL's 75th season, a special anniversary logo was designed and each player wore a patch on their jerseys with this logo throughout the season...
), NFL on NBC (1995The 1995 NFL season was the 76th regular season of the National Football League. The league expanded to 30 teams with the addition of the Carolina Panthers and the Jacksonville Jaguars...
–1997The 1997 NFL season was the 78th regular season of the National Football League. The Oilers relocated from Houston, Texas to Nashville, Tennessee...
), Football Night in AmericaFootball Night in America is the studio pregame show usually preceding NBC's broadcasts of Sunday night and Wild Card Saturday National Football League games starting in the 2006 National Football League season...
(2006The 2006 NFL season was the 87th regular season of the National Football League.Regular season play was held from September 7 to December 31, 2006...
–present)
- American Football League
The American Football League was a major American Professional Football league that operated from 1960 until 1969, when the established National Football League merged with it. The upstart AFL operated in direct competition with the more established NFL throughout its existence...
(1965The 1965 American Football League season was the sixth regular season of the American Football League.The season also saw a change of television address as the games moved from ABC to NBC....
-1969The 1969 American Football League season was the tenth regular season of the American Football League, and the last one before the AFL-NFL Merger...
)
- College football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
: (1946The 1946 college football season finished with the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame crowned as the national champion in the AP Poll, with the United States Military Academy the runner up...
–1965During the 20th Century, the NCAA had no playoff for the college football teams that would later be described as "Division I-A". The NCAA did recognize a national champion based upon the final results of "wire service" polls. The "writers' poll" by Associated Press was the most popular,...
, 1991–present)
- Notre Dame Football on NBC
Notre Dame Football on NBC is a presentation of the Notre Dame football television package on NBC. The television network broadcasts all Notre Dame home games.-History:...
(1991–present)
- Bayou Classic
The State Farm Bayou Classic is the annual college football game between the Grambling State University Tigers and the Southern University Jaguars, first held under that name in 1974 at Tulane Stadium in New Orleans, Louisiana, although the series itself actually began in 1936...
(1990–present)
- US Army All-American Bowl (2004–present)
- Olympics on NBC
NBC Sports' coverage of the Olympic Games consists of broadcasts on the various networks of NBC Universal in the United States, including the NBC broadcast network, Spanish language network Telemundo, and many of the company's cable networks....
- Olympic Summer Games (1964
The 1964 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XVIII Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event held in Tokyo, Japan in 1964. Tokyo had been awarded with the organization of the 1940 Summer Olympics, but this honor was subsequently passed to Helsinki because of Japan's...
, 1980The 1980 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event celebrated in Moscow in the Soviet Union. In addition, the yachting events were held in Tallinn, and some of the preliminary matches and the quarter-finals of the football tournament...
, 1988The 1988 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIV Olympiad, were an all international multi-sport events celebrated from September 17 to October 2, 1988 in Seoul, South Korea. They were the second summer Olympic Games to be held in Asia and the first since the 1964 Summer Olympics...
, 1992The 1992 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event celebrated in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, in 1992. The International Olympic Committee voted in 1986 to separate the Summer and Winter Games, which had been held in the same...
, 1996The 1996 Summer Olympics of Atlanta, officially known as the Games of the XXVI Olympiad and unofficially known as the Centennial Olympics, was an international multi-sport event which was celebrated in 1996 in Atlanta, Georgia, United States....
, 2000The Sydney 2000 Summer Olympic Games or the Millennium Games/Games of the New Millennium, officially known as the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was celebrated between 15 September and 1 October 2000 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia...
, 2004The 2004 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad, was a premier international multi-sport event held in Athens, Greece from August 13 to August 29, 2004 with the motto Welcome Home. 10,625 athletes competed, some 600 more than expected, accompanied by 5,501 team...
, 2008The 2008 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIX Olympiad, was a major international multi-sport event that took place in Beijing, China, from August 8 to August 24, 2008. A total of 11,028 athletes from 204 National Olympic Committees competed in 28 sports and 302 events...
, 2012The 2012 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the "London 2012 Olympic Games", are scheduled to take place in London, England, United Kingdom from 27 July to 12 August 2012...
, 2016The 2016 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXXI Olympiad, are a major international multi-sport event to be celebrated in the tradition of the Olympic Games, as governed by the International Olympic Committee...
, 2020The 2020 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXXII Olympiad, will be a major international sports and cultural festival, celebrated in the tradition of the Olympic Games....
)
- Olympic Winter Games (1972
The 1972 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XI Olympic Winter Games, were a winter multi-sport event which was celebrated from February 3 to February 13, 1972 in Sapporo, Hokkaidō, Japan...
, 2002The 2002 Winter Olympics, officially the XIX Olympic Winter Games, were a winter multi-sport event that was celebrated in February 2002 in and around Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. Approximately 2,400 athletes from 77 nations participated in 78 events in fifteen disciplines, held throughout...
, 2006The 2006 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XX Olympic Winter Games, was a winter multi-sport event which was celebrated in Turin, Italy from February 10, 2006, through February 26, 2006. This marked the second time Italy hosted the Olympic Winter Games, the first being the VII Olympic Winter...
, 2010The 2010 Winter Olympics, officially the XXI Olympic Winter Games or the 21st Winter Olympics, were a major international multi-sport event held from February 12–28, 2010, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, with some events held in the suburbs of Richmond, West Vancouver and the University...
, 2014The 2014 Winter Olympics, officially the XXII Olympic Winter Games, or the 22nd Winter Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event scheduled to be celebrated from 7 to 23 February 2014, in Sochi, Russia with some events held in the resort town of Krasnaya Polyana. Both the Olympic and...
, 2018The 2018 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XXIII Olympic Winter Games, is a winter multi-sport event scheduled to take place in Pyeongchang, South Korea, between 9 and 25 February 2018. The elected host city was announced on 6 July 2011 by the International Olympic Committee , after the...
)
- NHL on NBC: 1966, 1972
-NHL awards:-All-Star teams:-Scoring leaders:-Leading goaltenders:Note: GP = Games played; Min - Minutes Played; GA = Goals Against; GAA = Goals Against Average; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; SO = Shutouts-Debuts:...
–1975-NHL awards:-All-Star teams:Source: NHL.-Scoring leaders:Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = PointsSource: NHL.-Leading goaltenders:...
, 1990The 41st National Hockey League All-Star Game was held in Civic Arena in Pittsburgh, home to the Pittsburgh Penguins, on January 21, 1990. The game saw the team of all-stars from the Wales conference defeat the Campbell conference all-stars 12–7...
–1994The 45th National Hockey League All-Star Game was held in New York City, New York, on January 22, 1994.- Super Skills Competition :The Western Conference would win the Skills Competition for the second straight season...
(All Star Game), 2005-present
- Golf Channel on NBC (1964–present; coverage now produced by Golf Channel as of February 2011)
- Ryder Cup
The Ryder Cup is a biennial golf competition between teams from Europe and the United States. The competition is jointly administered by the PGA of America and the PGA European Tour, and is contested every two years, the venue alternating between courses in the United States and Europe...
(1991The 29th Ryder Cup Matches were held on The Ocean Course at Kiawah Island Golf Resort in Kiawah Island, South Carolina.The United States team won the competition by 14½ to 13½ points, winning back the Cup when Germany's Bernhard Langer missed a six foot putt on the 18th hole of the final match, a...
–present)
- U.S.G.A. Championships (1995
The 1995 United States Open Championship was the 95th U.S. Open. The event was held from June 15-18 at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club in Shinnecock Hills, New York. Corey Pavin won his first major championship by two strokes over Greg Norman.-Final leaderboard:...
–present)
- French Open (1983
List of the 1983 French Open champions:-Men's singles: Yannick Noah def. Mats Wilander, 6–2, 7–5, 7–6*It was Noah's 3rd title of the year, and his 14th overall. It was his 1st career Grand Slam title.-Women's singles: Chris Evert def...
–present)
- Kentucky Derby
The Kentucky Derby is a Grade I stakes race for three-year-old Thoroughbred horses, held annually in Louisville, Kentucky, United States on the first Saturday in May, capping the two-week-long Kentucky Derby Festival. The race is one and a quarter mile at Churchill Downs. Colts and geldings carry...
(2001–present)
- Preakness Stakes
The Preakness Stakes is an American flat Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds held on the third Saturday in May each year at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland. It is a Grade I race run over a distance of 9.5 furlongs on dirt. Colts and geldings carry 126 pounds ; fillies 121 lb...
(2001–present)
- Belmont Stakes
The Belmont Stakes is an American Grade I stakes Thoroughbred horse race held every June at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. It is a 1.5-mile horse race, open to three year old Thoroughbreds. Colts and geldings carry a weight of 126 pounds ; fillies carry 121 pounds...
(2001–2005, 2011–present)
- Santa Anita Derby
The Santa Anita Derby is an American Grade 1 thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds run each April at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California and carries a purse of $1 million. Inaugurated in 1935, it is considered the most important West Coast stepping-stone to the Kentucky Derby...
(2005–present)
- Hambletonian (2007–present)
- U.S. Figure Skating Championships (2009–present)
- Rugby World Cup
The Rugby World Cup is an international rugby union competition organised by the International Rugby Board and held every four years since 1987....
(2011The 2011 Rugby World Cup was the seventh Rugby World Cup, a quadrennial international rugby union competition inaugurated in 1987. The International Rugby Board selected New Zealand as the host country in preference to Japan and South Africa at a meeting in Dublin on 17 November 2005...
, 2015The 2015 Rugby World Cup is scheduled to be the eighth Rugby World Cup, the quadrennial rugby union world championship. The tournament is scheduled to be hosted by England from 4 September to 17 October 2015. In addition, Cardiff's 74,500-seater Millennium Stadium in Wales will also be used...
)
- Major League Soccer
Major League Soccer is a professional soccer league based in the United States and sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation . The league is composed of 19 teams — 16 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada...
(2012The 2012 Major League Soccer season is the upcoming 100th season of FIFA-sanctioned soccer, the 34th with a national first-division league, in the United States and Canada, and the 17th season of Major League Soccer...
–future)
Additional programming
In
2011-Pre-race favourites:2010 winner Alberto Contador was suspended from cycling during a doping investigation from September 2010 to February 2011, during which time 2010 runner-up Andy Schleck was regarded as the favourite. When the suspension was lifted, Contador declared his desire to compete in...
, NBC reaired
Versus'Versus is a sports-oriented cable television channel in the United States. It was previously known as Outdoor Life Network and was launched on July 1, 1995, focusing on fishing, hunting, and other outdoor sports...
coverage of the eighth stage of the
Tour de FranceThe Tour de France is an annual bicycle race held in France and nearby countries. First staged in 1903, the race covers more than and lasts three weeks. As the best known and most prestigious of cycling's three "Grand Tours", the Tour de France attracts riders and teams from around the world. The...
.
Former programs
- Major League Baseball on NBC: World Series presented by The Gillette Company (1947
The 1947 World Series matched the New York Yankees against the Brooklyn Dodgers, with the Yankees winning the Series in seven games for their first title since , and the eleventh championship in team history...
–1965The 1965 World Series featured the National League champion Los Angeles Dodgers against the American League champion Minnesota Twins, who had won their first pennant since 1933 when the team was known as the Washington Senators...
), NBC Game of the Week (1956-Regular season standings:-World series:-Awards and honors:-Statistical leaders:-All-Star game:- Triple Crown:*Mickey Mantle, New York Yankees - Mantle won the Major League Triple Crown by leading both leagues in batting average , home runs , and runs batted in...
–1964The 1964 Major League Baseball season is best remembered for the end of the New York Yankees' dynasty, as they won their 29th American League Championship in 44 seasons. However, the Yankees lost the World Series to the St. Louis Cardinals in seven games...
, 1966The 1966 Major League Baseball season was held between the American and National Leagues. The Braves play their first season in Atlanta, following their relocation from Milwaukee. Three new stadiums opened that season. On April 12, the Braves ushered in Atlanta Stadium with the Pittsburgh...
–1989-Awards and honors:*Most Valuable Player**Robin Yount, Milwaukee Brewers **Kevin Mitchell, San Francisco Giants *Cy Young Award**Bret Saberhagen, Kansas City Royals **Mark Davis, San Diego Padres *Rookie of the Year...
), Baseball Night in AmericaThe Baseball Network was a short-lived television broadcasting joint venture between ABC, NBC, and Major League Baseball. Under the arrangement, beginning in the 1994 season, the league produced its own in-house telecasts of games, which were then brokered to air on ABC and NBC...
(1994The 1994 Major League Baseball season ended with the infamous players strike ending the season on August 11, 1994.-Strike:As a result of a players' strike, the MLB season ended prematurely on August 11, 1994. No postseason was played...
–1995Due to the 1994 Major League Baseball strike which carried into the 1995 season, a shortened 144 game schedule commenced on April 25, when the Florida Marlins played host to the Los Angeles Dodgers.-Regular season:...
), Major League Baseball on NBC (1996*American League Championship Series MVP: Bernie Williams**American League Division Series*National League Championship Series MVP: Javy López**National League Division Series*All-Star Game, July 9 at Veterans Stadium: National League, 6-0; Mike Piazza, MVP...
–2000The 2000 Major League Baseball season ended with the New York Yankees defeating the New York Mets in Game 5 of the World Series, known as the Subway Series because fans could take the Subway to and from every game of the Series. An all-time record 5,693 home runs were hit during the regular season...
)
- 1947
The 1947 World Series matched the New York Yankees against the Brooklyn Dodgers, with the Yankees winning the Series in seven games for their first title since , and the eleventh championship in team history...
(Games 1 & 5), 1948The 1948 World Series matched the Cleveland Indians against the Boston Braves. The Braves had won the National League pennant for the first time since the "Miracle Braves" team of . The Indians spoiled a chance for the only all-Boston World Series by winning a one-game playoff against the Boston...
, 1949The 1949 World Series featured the New York Yankees and the Brooklyn Dodgers, with the Yankees winning in five games for their second defeat of the Dodgers in three years, and the twelfth championship in team history...
, 1950The 1950 World Series was the 47th World Series between the American and National Leagues for the championship of Major League Baseball. The Philadelphia Phillies as 1950 champions of the National League and the New York Yankees, as 1950 American League champions, competed to win a best-of-seven...
, 1951The 1951 World Series matched the two-time defending champion New York Yankees against the New York Giants, who had won the National League pennant in a thrilling three-game playoff with the Brooklyn Dodgers on the legendary home run by Bobby Thomson .In the Series, the Yankees showed some power of...
, 1952The 1952 World Series featured the three-time defending champion New York Yankees beating the Brooklyn Dodgers in seven games. The Yankees won their fourth straight title—tying the mark they set between 1936 and 1939 under manager Joe McCarthy, and Casey Stengel became the second manager in Major...
, 1953The 1953 World Series matched the four-time defending champion New York Yankees against the Brooklyn Dodgers in a rematch of the 1952 Series. The Yankees won in six games for their fifth straight title—a mark which has not been equalled—and their sixteenth overall...
, 1954The 1954 World Series matched the National League champion New York Giants against the American League champion Cleveland Indians. The Giants swept the Series in four games to win their first championship since , defeating the heavily favored Indians, who had won an AL-record 111 games in the...
, 1955The 1955 World Series matched the Brooklyn Dodgers against the New York Yankees, with the Dodgers winning the Series in seven games to capture their first championship in franchise history. It would be the only Series the Dodgers won in Brooklyn . The last time the Brooklyn franchise won a World...
, 1956The 1956 World Series of Major League Baseball was played between the New York Yankees and the defending champion Brooklyn Dodgers during the month of October 1956. The Series was a rematch of the 1955 World Series...
, 1957The 1957 World Series featured the defending champions, the New York Yankees , playing against the Milwaukee Braves . After finishing just one game behind the N.L. Champion Brooklyn Dodgers in 1956, the Braves came back in 1957 to win their first pennant since moving from Boston in 1953...
, 1958The 1958 World Series was a rematch of the 1957 Series, with the New York Yankees beating the defending champion Milwaukee Braves in seven games for their eighteenth title, and their seventh in ten years...
, 1959The 1959 World Series featured the National League champion Los Angeles Dodgers beating the American League champion Chicago White Sox, four games to two. It was the first pennant for the White Sox in 40 years . They would have to wait until 2005 to win another championship...
, 1960The 1960 World Series was played between the Pittsburgh Pirates of the National League and the New York Yankees of the American League from October 5 to October 13, 1960...
, 1961The 1961 World Series matched the New York Yankees against the Cincinnati Reds , with the Yankees winning in five games to earn their 19th championship in 39 seasons. This World Series was surrounded by Cold War political puns pitting the "Reds" against the "Yanks"...
, 1962The 1962 World Series matched the defending American League and World Series champions New York Yankees against the National League champion San Francisco Giants, who had won their first NL pennant since 1954 and first since moving from New York in 1958, defeating the Los Angeles Dodgers in a...
, 1963The 1963 World Series matched the two-time defending champion New York Yankees against the Los Angeles Dodgers, with the Dodgers sweeping the Series in four games to capture their second title in five years, and their third in franchise history....
, 1964The 1964 World Series pitted the National League champion St. Louis Cardinals against the American League champion New York Yankees, with the Cardinals prevailing in seven games. St...
, 1965The 1965 World Series featured the National League champion Los Angeles Dodgers against the American League champion Minnesota Twins, who had won their first pennant since 1933 when the team was known as the Washington Senators...
, 1966The 1966 World Series matched the Baltimore Orioles against the defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers, with the Orioles sweeping the Series in four games to capture their first championship in franchise history...
, 1967The 1967 World Series matched the St. Louis Cardinals against the Boston Red Sox in a rematch of the 1946 World Series, with the Cardinals winning in seven games for their second championship in four years and their eighth overall...
, 1968The 1968 World Series featured the defending champion St. Louis Cardinals against the Detroit Tigers, with the Tigers winning in seven games for their first championship since 1945, and the third in their history...
, 1969The 1969 World Series was played between the New York Mets and the Baltimore Orioles, with the Mets prevailing in five games to accomplish one of the greatest upsets in Series history, as that particular Orioles squad was considered to be one of the finest ever...
, 1970-Game 1:Saturday, October 10, 1970 at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati, OhioThe Jackson 5 performed "The Star-Spangled Banner" prior to the game, which almost became an embarrassment when the group realized shortly before their performance that they weren't familiar with the lyrics...
, 1971The 1971 World Series matched the defending champion Baltimore Orioles against the Pittsburgh Pirates, with the Pirates winning in seven games. Game 4, played in Pittsburgh, was the first-ever World Series game scheduled to be played at night....
, 1972The 1972 World Series matched the American League champion Oakland Athletics against the National League champion Cincinnati Reds, with the A's winning in seven games. These two teams would meet again in the fall classic eighteen years later...
, 1973The 1973 World Series matched the defending champion Oakland Athletics against the New York Mets, with the A's winning in seven games to repeat as World Champions....
, 1974-Game 1:Saturday, October 12, 1974 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, CaliforniaReggie Jackson put the A's on the board first with a solo homer in the top of the second off 20-game winner Andy Messersmith...
, 1975The 1975 World Series was played between the Boston Red Sox and Cincinnati Reds . It has been ranked by ESPN as the second-greatest World Series ever played...
, 1976The 1976 World Series matched the defending champion Cincinnati Reds of the National League against the New York Yankees of the American League, with the Reds sweeping the Series to repeat. The Reds became the only team to sweep an entire multi-tier postseason. The Reds are also the last National...
, 1978-Game 1:Tuesday, October 10, 1978 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, CaliforniaWith Yankee ace Ron Guidry unavailable at least until Game 3, the Dodgers pounded twenty-game winner Ed Figueroa. Figueroa left after two innings, allowing home runs to Dusty Baker and Davey Lopes. Lopes would add a...
, 1980-Game 1:Tuesday, October 14, 1980 at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia, PennsylvaniaThe Royals jumped on Philly rookie starter Bob Walk early with a pair of two run bombs—one by Amos Otis in the second and another by Willie Aikens in the third...
, 1982-Game 1:Tuesday, October 12, 1982 at Busch Stadium in St. Louis, MissouriThe Brewers' left-hander Mike Caldwell pitched a complete game shutout, allowing only three hits. The Brewers' offense was led by Paul Molitor, who had a World Series-record five hits and two RBIs...
, 1984The 1984 World Series began on October 9 and ended on October 14, 1984. The American League champion Detroit Tigers played against the National League champion San Diego Padres, with the Tigers winning the series four games to one....
, 1986The 1986 World Series pitted the New York Mets against the Boston Red Sox. It was cited in the legend of the "Curse of the Bambino" to explain the error by Bill Buckner in Game 6 that allowed the Mets to extend the series to a seventh game...
, 1988-Game 1:Saturday, October 15, 1988 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, CaliforniaBecause of using ace Orel Hershiser in Game 7 of the NLCS, the Dodgers had to open with rookie Tim Belcher in Game 1. Meanwhile, Oakland sent a well-rested Dave Stewart to the mound. Both pitchers, however, would have...
, 1995-Game 1:Saturday, October 21, 1995 at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium in Atlanta, GeorgiaAtlanta ace Greg Maddux pitched a two-hit complete game victory in his first World Series appearance ....
(Games 2, 3, & 6), 1997-Game 1:Saturday, October 18, 1997 at Pro Player Stadium in Miami Gardens, FloridaThe first World Series game in the state of Florida, Game 1 featured a youngster and a veteran facing each other on the mound...
, and 1999 World SeriesThe 1999 World Series, the 95th edition of Major League Baseball's championship series, featured a rematch between the defending champions New York Yankees against the Atlanta Braves during the month of October, with the Yankees sweeping the Series in four games for their second title in a row,...
- Major League Baseball: An Inside Look
Major League Baseball: An Inside Look was a pregame show for NBC's Game of the Week telecasts. It featured one-on-one interviews with the players, and other on-going news and notes relating to Major League Baseball...
(1979-Champions:*World Series: Pittsburgh Pirates over Baltimore Orioles ; Willie Stargell, MVP*American League Championship Series MVP: None.*National League Championship Series MVP: Willie Stargell...
–1989-Awards and honors:*Most Valuable Player**Robin Yount, Milwaukee Brewers **Kevin Mitchell, San Francisco Giants *Cy Young Award**Bret Saberhagen, Kansas City Royals **Mark Davis, San Diego Padres *Rookie of the Year...
)
- NBA on NBC (1955
The 1955–56 NBA season was the 10th season of the National Basketball Association. The season ended with the Philadelphia Warriors winning the NBA Championship, beating the Fort Wayne Pistons 4 games to 1 in the NBA Finals.- Notable occurrences :...
–1962The 1961–62 NBA season was the 16th season of the National Basketball Association. The season ended with the Boston Celtics winning their 4th straight NBA Championship, beating the Los Angeles Lakers 4 games to 3 in the NBA Finals.-Notable occurrences:...
, 1990–2002)
- WNBA on NBC (1997
-External links:*...
–2002-External links:***...
)
- 2002 FIBA World Championship
The 2002 FIBA World Championship was an international basketball tournament held by the International Basketball Federation in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA from August 29 to September 8, 2002.-Venues:-Squads:...
- NASCAR on NBC
NASCAR on NBC, identified by its on-air logo as NBC NASCAR, was a series of NASCAR races that aired on the network from 2001-2006. Prior to the contract that gave NBC broadcast rights the network aired races as early as the 1964 World 600...
(1983The 1983 NASCAR Winston Cup Season began on Sunday February 20 and ended on Sunday November 20. Bobby Allison was Winston Cup champion at the end of the season finishing 47 points ahead of Darrell Waltrip...
–1985The 1985 NASCAR Winston Cup Season began on Sunday February 10 and ended on Sunday November 17. Darrell Waltrip, driving for Junior Johnson, was crowned champion at the end of the season...
, 1999–2006)
- 2002
The 2002 Daytona 500 was held on February 17 at Daytona International Speedway. The race was won by Ward Burton. Rookie Jimmie Johnson won the pole, with fellow Daytona 500 rookie Kevin Harvick qualifying second, the first time the field would be led by two rookies...
, 2004The 2004 Daytona 500 was a NASCAR Nextel Cup Series race held on February 15 at Daytona International Speedway. The race was the 46th running of the Daytona 500, and the first race in what is now referred as the Sprint Nextel era. The race was televised by NBC, with Allen Bestwick, 1975 winner...
, and 2006 Daytona 500The 2006 Daytona 500 was the first race in the 2006 NASCAR Nextel Cup season. It took place on February 19, 2006 at Daytona International Speedway.-Qualifying and Gatorade Duels:...
- College football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
: Rose Bowl (1952The 1952 Rose Bowl was a college football bowl game played on January 1, 1952 at the end of the 1951 college football season. It was the 38th Rose Bowl Game. It holds the distinction of being the first nationally televised college football game...
–1988The 1988 Rose Bowl was a college football bowl game played on January 1, 1988. It was the 74th Rose Bowl Game. The Michigan State Spartans defeated the USC Trojans 20-17. Michigan State Linebacker Percy Snow was named the Rose Bowl Player Of The Game. This was the last Rose Bowl game to air on NBC...
), Sugar BowlThe Sugar Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana. The Sugar Bowl has been played annually since January 1, 1935, and celebrated its 75th anniversary on January 2, 2009...
(1959The 1959 edition to the Sugar Bowl featured the top ranked LSU Tigers, and the 12th ranked Clemson Tigers. This game was one of the classic Sugar Bowl games, as LSU won its first ever national championship....
–1970The 1969 college football season was celebrated as the 100th anniversary of college football. During the 20th Century, the NCAA had no playoff for the college football teams that would later be described as "Division I-A"...
), Orange Bowl (1965–1995The 1995 Orange Bowl a 1994-1995 college football bowl game was played on January 1, 1995, for the national championship. This 61st edition to the Orange Bowl featured the Nebraska Cornhuskers, and the Miami Hurricanes. Nebraska came into the game with a 12-0 and #1 AP ranking, whereas Miami came...
), Fiesta BowlThe Fiesta Bowl, now sponsored by Frito-Lay and named with their Tostitos brand, is a United States college football bowl game played annually at the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. Between its origination in 1971 and 2006, the game was hosted in Tempe, Arizona at Sun Devil...
(1978–1995The 1995 IBM OS/2 Fiesta Bowl, played on January 2, 1995, was the 24th edition of the Fiesta Bowl. The game featured the Colorado Buffaloes and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.-1st half:...
), Cotton Bowl Classic (1953The 1952 college football season ended with the unbeaten Michigan State Spartans and Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets each claiming the national championship according to different polls. Michigan State finished first according to two of the "wire service" polls which also both placed Georgia Tech...
–1957The 1956 college football season saw the Sooners of the University of Oklahoma finish a third consecutive season unbeaten and untied to again win the national championship....
, 1993The 1992 NCAA Division I-A football season was the first year of the Bowl Coalition, and ended with Alabama's first national championship in thirteen years—their first since the departure of Bear Bryant...
–1995The 1995 Cotton Bowl was the 59th Cotton Bowl Classic. The USC Trojans defeated the Texas Tech Red Raiders 55-14. The Trojans took a 21-0 lead less than ten minutes into the game and led 34-0 at halftime. USC wide receiver Keyshawn Johnson, who finished with eight catches for a Cotton Bowl-record...
), Gator BowlThe Gator Bowl is an annual college football bowl game played at EverBank Field in Jacksonville, Florida. Held continuously since 1946, it is the sixth oldest college bowl, as well as the first one ever televised nationally...
(1996The 1995 NCAA Division I-A football season was the first year of the Bowl Alliance and was a relatively calm year compared to the early 1990s.Tom Osborne led Nebraska to its second straight national title with a victory over Florida in the Fiesta Bowl....
–2006The 2006 Gator Bowl was a college football bowl game between the Louisville Cardinals and the Virginia Tech Hokies at Alltel Stadium in Jacksonville, Florida on January 2, 2006. The game was the final contest of the 2005 football season for each team and resulted in a 35–24 Virginia Tech...
), Hall of Fame Bowl (1988The 1987 NCAA Division I-A football season ended with Miami winning its second national championship during the 80s in an Orange Bowl match-up featuring a rare #1 vs...
–1992The 1992 NCAA Division I-A football season was the first year of the Bowl Coalition, and ended with Alabama's first national championship in thirteen years—their first since the departure of Bear Bryant...
)
- College Basketball on NBC
College Basketball on NBC is a former television program created and produced by NBC Sports that broadcast NCAA Division I men's basketball games. The program existed in some shape or form from 1969–1998. From 1969–1981, NBC covered the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament...
(1969–1998)
- NCAA Tournament (1969
The 1969 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament involved 25 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 8, 1969, and ended with the championship game on March 22 in Louisville, Kentucky...
–1981The 1981 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament involved 48 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 12, 1981, and ended with the championship game on March 30 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania...
)
- Wimbledon
The Championships, Wimbledon, or simply Wimbledon , is the oldest tennis tournament in the world, considered by many to be the most prestigious. It has been held at the All England Club in Wimbledon, London since 1877. It is one of the four Grand Slam tennis tournaments, the other three Majors...
(1969The 1969 Wimbledon Championships was a tennis tournament that was played on grass courts. It was the 2nd edition of the event in the Open Era and the 83rd since its formation...
–2011The 2011 Wimbledon Championships took place at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon, London, England, from 20 June to 3 July 2011. It was the 125th edition of the championships, and the third Grand Slam tournament of the year. It was played on grass courts and was part of the...
)
- Budweiser Million
The Arlington Million is a Grade 1 flathorse race in the United States for thoroughbred horses aged three years and upward. It is raced over a distance of 1¼ miles on the turf at Arlington Park, Arlington Heights, Illinois in August each year...
(1981–1986)
- Breeders' Cup
The Breeders' Cup World Championships is an annual series of Thoroughbred horse races, most but not all Grade I, operated by Breeders' Cup Limited, a company formed in 1982. From its inception in 1984 through 2006, it was a single-day event; starting in 2007, it expanded to two days. The location...
(1984–2005)
- XFL
The XFL was a professional American football league that played for one season in 2001. The league was founded by Vince McMahon, the Chairman of the Board of Directors of WWE...
(2001)
- AFL on NBC (2003
The 2003 Arena Football League season was the 17th season of the Arena Football League. The league champions were the Tampa Bay Storm, who defeated the Arizona Rattlers in ArenaBowl XVII. The AFL expanded its season to a 16-game schedule...
–2006The 2006 Arena Football League season was the 20th season of the Arena Football League. The league champions were the Chicago Rush, who defeated the Orlando Predators in ArenaBowl XX....
)
- Champ Car
Champ Car was the name for a class and specification of open wheel cars used in American Championship Car Racing for many decades, primarily for use in the Indianapolis 500 auto race...
: (1979–1988; Michigan 500The Firestone Indy 400 was an IndyCar Series race held at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, Michigan.Between 1970 and 2007, Michigan International Speedway hosted at least one open-wheel race in every season, hosting 55 open-wheel races over 38 years...
, Pocono 500The Pocono 500 was an American Open Wheel 500-mile race held at Pocono International Raceway from 1971-1989. It was sanctioned by USAC from 1971-1981, and by CART from 1982-1989. Following the 1989 event, the track was officially deemed too rough and unsuitable for Indycars, and was permanently...
, Meadowlands Grand Prix 1989-1991; Toronto Grand Prix 1994, 2005–2007)
- Canadian Football League
The Canadian Football League or CFL is a professional sports league located in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football, a form of gridiron football closely related to American football....
(1954, 1982)
- Michael Jordan Celebrity Golf Classic
Michael Jeffrey Jordan is a former American professional basketball player, active entrepreneur, and majority owner of the Charlotte Bobcats...
(1990s)
- Wood Memorial Stakes
The Wood Memorial Stakes is an American flat Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds held annually at Aqueduct Racetrack in Jamaica, New York. It is currently a Grade I race run over a distance of 9 furlongs on dirt....
(2005, 2008, 2010)
- PBA Fall Tour (1984–1991)
- AVP Tour
The Association of Volleyball Professionals, or AVP, is a beach volleyball tour which takes place throughout the United States. The summer tour starts in April and continues almost every weekend until the end of October....
(1990-????) (2004–2009)
- FIFA World Cup
The FIFA World Cup, often simply the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of Fédération Internationale de Football Association , the sport's global governing body...
(1966, 1986)
Notable NBC personalities
- Marv Albert
Marv Albert is an American television and radio sportscaster. Honored for his work as a member of the Basketball Hall of Fame, he is commonly referred to as "the voice of basketball." From 1967–2004, he was also known as "the voice of the New York Knicks."Including Super Bowl XLII, Marv has called...
- Mel Allen
Mel Allen was an American sportscaster, best known for his long tenure as the primary play-by-play announcer for the New York Yankees. During the peak of his career in the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s, Allen was arguably the most prominent member of his profession, his voice familiar to millions...
- Tiki Barber
Atiim Kiambu Hakeem-Ah "Tiki" Barber is an American football running back who is currently a free agent. He was drafted by the New York Giants in the second round of the 1997 NFL Draft. He played college football at Virginia....
- Len Berman
Len Berman is the former weekday evening sports anchor on WNBC-TV. Berman was with WNBC/NBC from 1982-2009. He was previously with WCBS-TV from 1979–1982, and before that at WBZ-TV in Boston from 1973–1978.-Early life:...
- Jerome Bettis
Jerome Abram "The Bus" Bettis is a retired American football halfback who played for the NFL's Los Angeles/St. Louis Rams and Pittsburgh Steelers. Bettis is considered one of the best big backs ever because his footwork and power, and is currently fifth on the National Football League's all-time...
- John Brodie
John Riley Brodie is a former professional American football quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers, and had a second career as a Senior PGA Tour professional golfer.-Early years and education:...
- Bill Clement
- Bud Collins
-External links:*** 2001 interview with Collins*...
- Cris Collinsworth
Anthony Cris Collinsworth is a former American college and professional football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League for eight seasons in the 1980s. He played college football for the University of Florida, and thereafter, he played his entire professional career for...
- Bob Costas
Robert Quinlan "Bob" Costas is an American sportscaster, on the air for the NBC network since the early 1980s.-Early life:...
- Don Criqui
Don Criqui is an American sportscaster, currently employed as a play-by-play announcer for CBS Sports. Criqui's duties include occasional television coverage of National Football League games, women's and men's college basketball, occasional college football and radio play-by-play of ISP Sports'...
- John Davidson
- Tom Durkin
Tom Durkin is an American sportscaster and public address announcer specializing in Thoroughbred horse racing. He was the race caller for NBC Sports from 1984 through 2010....
- Mike Emrick
Michael "Doc" Emrick, is an American sports commentator noted mostly for his work in ice hockey. Emrick is currently the lead announcer for NHL national telecasts on both NBC and Versus...
- Dick Enberg
Richard Alan "Dick" Enberg is an American sportscaster. He currently provides play-by-play for telecasts of San Diego Padres baseball on 4SD, following a long career calling various sports for such networks as NBC, CBS, and ESPN...
- Alex Flanagan
Alex Flanagan is an American sportscaster who is a graduate of the University of Arizona and Salpointe Catholic High School in Tucson, Arizona...
- Mike Florio
- Joe Garagiola
- Gayle Gardner
Gayle Gardner is an American sportscaster who has worked for ESPN and NBC Sports beginning in 1987 until 1993.-Biography:Gardner got her first job as a sportscaster because she hired herself. She got her second job as a sportscaster because a guy died...
- Marty Glickman
Martin "Marty" Glickman was a Jewish American track and field athlete and sports announcer, born in The Bronx, New York. His parents, Harry and Molly Glickmann, immigrated to the United States from Jassy, Romania....
- Curt Gowdy
Curtis Edward "Curt" Gowdy was an American sportscaster, well known as the longtime "voice" of the Boston Red Sox and for his coverage of many nationally-televised sporting events, primarily for NBC Sports in the 1960s and 1970s.-Early years:The son of a manager for the Union Pacific railroad,...
- Jim Gray
Jim Gray is an American sportscaster. He has previously worked as a reporter with NBC Sports and CBS Sports. He is currently with Westwood One radio network, Showtime, Golf Channel, the Sacramento Kings, and ESPN/ESPN on ABC...
- Bryant Gumbel
Bryant Charles Gumbel is an American television journalist and sportscaster. He is best known for his 15 years as co-host of NBC's The Today Show. He is the younger brother of sportscaster Greg Gumbel.-Early life:...
- Greg Gumbel
Greg Gumbel is an American television sportscaster. He is best known for his various assignments on the CBS network...
- Pat Haden
Patrick Capper "Pat" Haden is the athletic director at the University of Southern California. He played quarterback for the USC Trojans before playing professionally in the NFL for the Los Angeles Rams from 1976 to 1981...
- Tom Hammond
Tom Hammond is an American sportscaster for NBC Sports television. Hammond is one of the network's staple on-air presenters, along with Bob Costas and Dan Hicks...
- Rodney Harrison
Rodney Scott Harrison is a retired professional football player of the National Football League. Harrison played safety for the San Diego Chargers and New England Patriots...
- Dan Hicks
John Daniel "Dan" Hicks is an American sportscaster for NBC. His primary duties for the network include play-by-play commentary for golf, but he also does occasional play-by-play commentary for The AFL on NBC and Notre Dame football...
- Lewis Johnson
Lewis Johnson is a reporter for ESPN, and NBC Sports. He formerly worked for Versus. He was the sideline reporter for Notre Dame football home games and in 2001 and 2002 was a sideline reporter for the NBA Finals on NBC and for the network's Arena Football telecasts from 2003 through 2006...
- Charlie Jones
Charlie Jones was an American Emmy Award-winning sportscaster for NBC and ABC.-Education:Born in Fort Smith, Arkansas, Jones earned an undergraduate degree at the University of Southern California and a law degree at the University of Arkansas.-American Football League/National Football...
- Andrea Kremer
Andrea Kremer is an American television sports journalist. She currently works as a correspondent on HBO's "Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel." Until the 2011 season she worked as a sideline reporter for NBC on the network's coverage of Sunday Night Football.Kremer has covered more than 20 Super...
- Tony Kubek
Anthony Christopher "Tony" Kubek is a retired American professional baseball player and television broadcaster....
- Jim Lampley
James "Jim" Lampley is an American sportscaster, news anchor, movie producer, and restaurant owner. Lampley has anchored a record 14 Olympic Games U.S. television broadcasts, most recently the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China....
- Bill Macatee
Bill Macatee is an American sports broadcaster.-Early life and career:Macatee was born in Rome, New York, and grew up in El Paso, Texas. In 1978, he earned a bachelor of science degree in speech from Lamar University in Beaumont, Texas...
- John Madden
- Al Michaels
Alan Richard "Al" Michaels is an American television sportscaster. Now employed by NBC Sports after nearly three decades with ABC Sports, Michaels is one of the most prominent members of his profession...
- Lindsey Nelson
Lindsey Nelson was an American sportscaster best known for his broadcasts of college football and New York Mets baseball.-Early life and career:...
- Don Ohlmeyer
Don Ohlmeyer is an American television producer and former president of the NBC network's West Coast division. Currently, Don Ohlmeyer is a Professor of Television Communications at Pepperdine University in Malibu, California...
- Keith Olbermann
Keith Theodore Olbermann is an American political commentator and writer. He has been the chief news officer of the Current TV network and the host of Current TV's weeknight political commentary program, Countdown with Keith Olbermann, since June 20, 2011...
- Merlin Olsen
Merlin Jay Olsen was an American football player in the National Football League, NFL commentator, and actor. He played his entire 15-year career with the Los Angeles Rams and was elected to the Pro Bowl in 14 of those seasons, a current record shared with Bruce Matthews...
- Billy Packer
Anthony William "Billy" Packer is a former American sportscaster for CBS Sports and a published author.-Early life:Packer is a graduate of Liberty High School in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania...
- Bill Patrick
Bill Patrick is a sports anchor for NHL on Versus and NBC Sports.-Sports broadcasting career:Bill Patrick graduated from the University of Maine in Orono, Maine....
- Dan Patrick
Daniel Patrick Pugh , professionally known as Dan Patrick, is an American sportscaster, radio personality, and actor from Mason, Ohio...
- Ahmad Rashad
Ahmad Rashād is an American sportscaster and former professional football player. An All-American running back and wide receiver from Oregon known as Bobby Moore, Rashad was the fourth overall pick in the 1972 NFL Draft, drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals...
- Jimmy Roberts
Jimmy Roberts is a sportscaster for NBC. Roberts joined NBC in May 2000 after serving as a sports reporter for almost 12 years at ESPN, where he won 11 Sports Emmy Awards.-Early life and career:...
- Vin Scully
Vincent Edward Scully is an American sportscaster, known primarily as the play-by-play voice of the Brooklyn and Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team on Prime Ticket, KCAL-TV and KABC radio...
- Sterling Sharpe
Sterling Sharpe is a former American football wide receiver and an analyst for the NFL Network. He attended the University of South Carolina, and played from 1988 to 1994 with the Green Bay Packers.-Early life:...
- Jim Simpson
Jim Simpson is a retired American sportscaster, known for his smooth delivery as a play-by-play man and his versatility in covering many different sports. In 1997, he won the Sports Lifetime Achievement Award, and in 2000 he was inducted into the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters...
- O. J. Simpson
Orenthal James "O. J." Simpson , nicknamed "The Juice", is a retired American collegiate and professional football player, football broadcaster, and actor...
- Ed Sneed
Ed Sneed is an American professional golfer, sportscaster and course design consultant, who played on the PGA Tour and the Champions Tour....
- Marty Snider
Marty Snider is an American Sportscaster. Snider is a pit reporter for NASCAR on TNT. He has been a part of Turner Sports' NASCAR coverage since 1998. Snider also served as a NASCAR pit reporter for NBC Sports from 1999-2006. In 2006, Snider was a part of the Emmy award winning NBC/TNT NASCAR...
- Melissa Stark
Melissa Stark , is an American television personality and sportscaster that works as a reporter for the NFL Network and previously had worked with NBC, which she joined in 2003, primarily at its MSNBC subsidiary. She was also a correspondent for NBC's The Today Show...
- Hannah Storm
Hannah Storm is an American television sports journalist, serving as co-anchor of ESPN's SportsCenter Monday–Thursday mornings, and is also host of the NBA Countdown pregame show on ABC as part of the network's NBA Sunday game coverage.-Early life and career:Storm was born in Oak Park, Illinois,...
- Matt Vasgersian
Matt Vasgersian is an American sportscaster and television host. Vasgersian is a host for the MLB Network and has served as an announcer for NBC Sports' coverage of the Olympics, and on Fox Sports' MLB coverage...
- Bob Wolff
Robert "Bob" Wolff , in New York City, New York is an American sportscaster. He was the radio and TV voice of the Washington Senators from 1947 to 1960, continuing with the team when they relocated and became the Minnesota Twins in 1961. In 1962, he joined NBC-TV...
Notable Telemundo personalities
- Andres Cantor
- Karim Mendiburu
- Edgar Lopez
- Leti Coo
- Jessie Losada
- Alejandro Blanco
Alejandro Blanco is the current President of the Spanish Olympic Committee.On September 8, 2011 it was announced that he will be President of the Madrid bid to host the 2020 Summer Olympics.-References:...
- Rene Giraldo
External links