Sports Business Journal’s John Ourand is reporting that NBC will be shutting down NBCSN, the home of most national NHL games, by the end of 2021.
The move is being done, according to Ourand, so that NBC can consolidate its offering and “is part of a bigger strategy to grow its Peacock streaming service.”
#BREAKING: NBC has begun telling distributors and leagues that it is planning to shut down its NBC Sports Network channel by the end of 2021 (@Ourand_SBJ).
Free to read: https://t.co/7dyzP0goM0 pic.twitter.com/113kWGW2Nl
— Sports Business Journal (@sbjsbd) January 22, 2021
Major NHL, NASCAR, and Premier League events will migrate to USA Network, which already boasts WWE’s Monday Night Raw, to boost that channel’s ratings.
Of note: USA Network is in 86.2 million homes. NBCSN is in 80.6 million homes. NBC is telling bigger leagues that the move to USA will increase their viewership.
— John Ourand (@Ourand_SBJ) January 22, 2021
The NHL’s television rights deal with NBC Sports ends after this season and Gary Bettman has said he would like to split the rights between two different networks next year.
It’s unclear if the ending of NBCSN will affect regional networks like NBC Sports Washington, which broadcasts all Capitals games.
I truly appreciate the personal concern & messages from many regarding NBCSN. To clarify, that is referring to the national sports network, and not regional operations like I work for.
Don’t have any additional info but wanted to at least eliminate some confusion.
— Brodie Brazil (@BrodieNBCS) January 22, 2021
