Universal Sports Assets Taken Over By NBCU

The Universal Sports Network shut down on Sunday, November 15th, 2015, with its portfolio of rights being acquired by NBC Sports. The last program aired on the network was the documentary "5 Peaks in a Day from Switzerland".

Founded in 2005 as the World Championship Sports League, the network was majority owned by Intermedia Partners, with NBC Universal acquiring a 5 percent stake in the network in 2008. At the same time, the channel was rebranded as the Universal Sports Network. The network was originally launched as a digital subchannel sports network, and was carried both by NBC owned-and-operated stations as well as those owned by Granite Broadcasting.

The network dropped its digital subchannel business model in 2011 after Direct TV picked up the network. But it struggled to grab enough carriage to make it a financially viable network.

In the deal with World Championship Sports Network, NBC Sports takes over the portfolio of rights held by Universal Sports. Universal Sports Network has long-term broadcasting agreements with the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), the International Cycling Union (UCI), the International Federation of Gymnastics (FIG), the International Rowing Federation (FISA), the International Ski Federation (FIS), the International Swimming Federation (FINA), and the International Rugby Board (IRB).

"Acquiring these valuable media rights builds on our long-term investment in the Olympic Games through 2032, and reaffirms our commitment to Olympic sports and the stories of the great athletes who compete in them," said Gary Zenkel, president of NBC Olympics, a division of NBC Sports Group. "We now have a great opportunity to engage with the Olympic-sport audience year round and inspire the next generation of Olympic fans, which is a critical part of our ongoing Olympic strategy."