‘Unusual’: NBCU’s Surprise Interest in a New Cable Sports Network

In a surprise twist, NBCUniversal is eyeing the launch of a new sports cable network less than four years after shutting down NBCSN, according to The Wall Street Journal.

With NBC returning to live NBA game action for the first time in 23 years, the proposed channel would “primarily carry sports that are streamed on NBCU’s Peacock platform,” says the WSJ. It could debut as early as the fall, when NBC will start splitting NBA game packages in the U.S. market with Disney’s ABC/ESPN and Jeff Bezos’s Amazon Prime Video. However, discussions are ongoing—and no final decision has been made.

The development is a head-scratcher in some ways. 

For one, it would run opposite NBCUniversal’s recent strategy to spin off most of its cable networks into a new company dubbed Versant. Why NBCUniversal, or any media company, would want to launch a new network in today’s struggling cable TV ecosystem is also a legit question. 

Cord-cutting, and the emergence of streaming video, have slashed the number of U.S. homes with cable TV to under 70 million from a high of 110 million in 2010.

In May, streaming’s share of total television usage outpaced the combined share of cable and broadcast TV for the first time, according to Nielsen. Streaming generated 44.8% of TV viewership in May vs. a combined 44.2% for cable (24.1%) and broadcast (20.1%).

But what’s old is new again. After producing what many believe to be the golden era of NBA TV coverage from 1990 to 2002, NBC is going all out to make its return to hoops a big success. It has recruited Michael Jordan as a special contributor, and viewers will once again listen to John Tesh’s driving soundtrack “Roundball Rock.”

NBC will pay an eye-popping $2.5 billion a year annually for the NBA. The new cable network would mostly simulcast sports on Peacock. The strategy could provide NBCUniversal with a tool to further monetize its existing sports programming on the streaming platform, which will include the NBA, the NFL’s Sunday Night Football, WNBA, golf, and college football. It could also appeal to consumers who are satisfied with their cable bundle and reluctant to cut the cord.

Also, the network would probably not be available under broad cable packages that include rival ESPN and FS1, per the WSJ. Instead, it would likely be offered via more specific cable packages that provide consumers more choice and financial flexibility. 

“Starting a network for skinny bundles seems unusual, but it could be a way to further monetize/distribute rights they already own,” Bob Thompson, the former Fox Sports executive, tells Front Office Sports.

Thompson also tweeted Wednesday night when the news dropped, “Peacock doesn’t have enough exclusive sports rights separate from NBC at this time to properly program a linear network. That doesn’t mean they couldn’t go out and buy enough content for Peacock to be able program a cable network as well. But it’s not going to be cheap.”

Patrick Crakes, another former Fox executive, added it’s hard for media companies to make money on sports solely through streaming. The potential channel is “not going to hurt Peacock, it’s a pay-TV product for people who are stubborn about leaving the bundle,” Crakes told the WSJ. 

Due to low ratings, NBCUniversal shuttered the former NBC Sports Network in December 2021. Parent company Comcast could provide more news on the nascent network during its second-quarter earnings report on July 31.

Peacock, meanwhile, added 5 million subscribers during the first quarter of this year, reaching 41 million, but that figure remains smaller than many of its top competitors. The service also just introduced a $3 monthly price increase across its primary tiers. 

NBC declined to comment.