NBCUniversal is closing its cable sports channel NBCSN at the end of the year and migrating much of its programming to its sister network of general entertainment, USA, the company said.
NBCSN’s premium properties are the National Hockey League and Nascar motorsport, which will transition to the USA Network this year. Some content will remain on both channels until NBCSN officially turns off the lights. NBCUniversal informed employees of the plan on Friday afternoon in a company memo.
“We are absolutely committed, more than ever, to living sports as a company, and having a platform as big as the USA Network showing some of our main sports content is great for our partners, distributors, viewers and advertisers,” said the NBC Sports Group President Pete Bevacqua.
By placing top-notch sports on the USA Network, NBCUniversal – a unit of Comcast Corp – hopes to solve two problems with one move: getting rid of a low-performing asset and driving an already powerful one. The Premier Soccer League will also have games in the USA.
NBCSN has struggled to compete with bigger rivals, like Walt Disney Co.’s ESPN and Fox Corp’s Fox Sports cable network. Although it has a wide national reach, its ratings are minimal compared to the competition. Fox Corp. and News Corp, the parent of the Wall Street Journal, share common ownership.