Distribution in 20 New Markets Including Houston, Seattle, Miami, Denver, Indianapolis, Portland, Salt Lake City & Jacksonville
Coming Off 100-hour Broadcast of World Ski Championships, Universal Sports To Continue Delivering Coverage of Important National and World Championships During Lead Up to 2010 Vancouver Winter Games
LOS ANGELES – February 17, 2008 – Universal Sports, the preeminent multiplatform destination for Olympic-related sports programming, announced today the addition of 20 new television markets, boosting its distribution to more than 45 million television households. This announcement made by Claude Ruibal, CEO of Universal Sports and Gary Zenkel, President, NBC Olympics, coincides with the beginning of the one-year countdown to the Vancouver Olympic Games.
This distribution announcement comes on the heels of a 100-plus hour broadcast by Universal Sports of the Alpine World Ski Championships where American Lindsey Vonn, who will lead the U.S. Ski Team at the 2010 Vancouver Games, won two gold medals. This is the first of many important World Championships that Universal Sports will broadcast this year, in addition to many top National Championship events including the U.S. Olympic Trials in Curling on Feb. 27-28 where the U.S. Olympic Curling team for Vancouver will be determined.
Universal Sports, which originally launched as World Championship Sports Network in October 2006, has delivered over 16,000 hours of Olympic sports programming to U.S. consumers on television combined with an additional 20,000 plus hours of programming online.
“We are delivering on the pledge we made to our consumers and partners when we launched Universal Sports, and we are further solidifying Universal Sports as the key destination in the U.S. for major national and international competition in Olympic-related sports,” said Ruibal. “Our partnership with NBC Universal has been key to helping us succeed in making incredible sports available to every consumer in the U.S.”
"Many of the stars of the Beijing Olympics will continue to excite and amaze as will the future stars of the Vancouver and London Games, and the platform to watch these incredible athletes compete as they build toward the next Games is Universal Sports and UniversalSports.com,” said Zenkel. “This recent growth in the reach of our network, and the continued expansion we expect throughout 2009, will ensure that these great athletes and their stories can be followed all around the country.”
UNIVERSAL SPORTS WIDESPREAD AVAILABILITY: Universal Sports is now available in eight of the top 10 DMAs including New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, Dallas-Fort Worth, San Francisco and Washington, D.C The latest expansion includes launches in the first quarter in Houston, Miami, Seattle, Denver, Portland, Indianapolis, Salt Lake City and Jacksonville.
UNIVERSAL SPORTS PROMOTION ON NBC SPORTS: NBC Universal’s promotional commitment to Universal Sports includes prominent placement in recent NBC Sports programming including Super Bowl XLIII’s pregame coverage and the World Ski Championships. NBC will continue to promote Universal Sports throughout much of its sports programming, including the Tyson American Cup, its coverage of Olympic Trials, the Winter Dew Tour, and every week on its Sports Desk updates.
2009 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS ON UNIVERSAL SPORTS: Universal Sports will offer exclusive broadcast coverage of Winter and Summer World Championship events highlighted by the following:
| Winter Sports | Summer Sports |
| Alpine ski* | Swimming* |
| Freestyle ski | Aquatics (Diving, Water Polo, Synchronized Swimming) |
| Nordic (Ski Jumping, Cross | Track & Field (Athletics)* |
| Country, Nordic Combined) | Gymnastics* |
| Bobsled & Skeleton | Cycling |
| Ice Hockey | Rowing |
| Snowboarding | Fencing |
| Luge | Badminton |
| Speed Skating | Water Ski / Wakeboard |
| Curling | Canoe/Kayak |
| Karate | |
* Joint coverage with NBC Sports
For more information on current programming schedules and channel listings please visit www.UniversalSports.com
About Universal Sports:
Universal Sports, a partnership between NBC Sports and InterMedia Partners, serves as the preeminent multiplatform destination for Olympic-related and lifestyle sports programming available on television and online. Universal Sports is a 24-hour television channel available in more than 45 million television households nationwide including New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, Dallas, San Francisco, Washington DC, Houston, Seattle, Miami, Denver, Indianapolis, San Diego, Hartford-New Haven, Las Vegas and more. Major world championship and Olympic qualifying events found on Universal Sports range from track and field, skiing, swimming, gymnastics, marathons and cycling, to volleyball, rowing, triathlon, fencing, speed skating and martial arts. UniversalSports.com delivers an immersive experience via live and on-demand competition coverage, interaction with top athletes through blogs and in-depth access to Olympic sports news and information year round. For more information on the availability of the Universal Sports 24-hour television channel, please visit www.UniversalSports.com
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