By Zachary Baru
Yes you heard it correctly, NBCUniversal announced its newest sports network - one you may have heard of already. Many sports fans will find a familiar name in the “NBC Sports Network”, or NBCSN for short.
NBCUniversal previously owned the first NBCSN from January 1, 2012 through December 31, 2021. Upon its end, the sports broadcasting landscape was a bit different from what we say in present day. Most of the talk throughout the media focused on the demise of linear television, and the transition to streaming. Now, with linear still around, and hanging on a thread from sports and news, many linear networks with a large investment in television must rely on sports for revenue. As the focus of shows transitions to streaming, the market for live TV falls mostly on sports and news, the two biggest reasons people still tune in at a given time for television entertainment.
In a time where you can watch whatever, whenever you want on streaming, sports will always be best live. Whether the rational is not finding out the score, or betting, sports live will always be king. NBCUniversal knows this, and certainly sees the increase in ratings since sports betting has expanded to more states.
This begs the question, “why not just focus on streaming live?” With the current amount of investment in NBC Sports through NBC, USA, and NBC Sports regional networks, ditching linear all together seems a bit pre-mature. Additionally, NBCUniversal already has existing deals with YouTube TV, Fubo, Sling and other live TV providers. Ditching linear completely does not seem to be in NBC’s future.
The NBC Sports Network is set to launch once again on Monday, November 17. Deals are already inked with sister company Xfinity, and Google’s YouTube TV. Sports on linear TV is not dead, and shows no signs of going away anytime soon.
