Asics World Series of Beach Volleyball on NBC, NBC Sports Network, & Universal beginning Thursday

Beach volleyball is slowly making a comeback in the US. Earlier this summer you had World University Games Beach Volleyball on ESPNU and ESPN3. Later this summer the AVP makes its return to TV on CBS Sports Network. However the pinnacle of Beach Volleyball is the Asics World Series of Beah Volleyball. Earlier this year NBC announced they had secured rights to broadcast the Long Beach Stage of the Asics World Series of Beach Volleyball. Yesterday NBC Sports Group Press Box released the television schedule. Below is that release. 

ASICS WORLD SERIES OF BEACH VOLLEYBALL JULY 25-28, ON NBC, NBC SPORTS NETWORK, AND UNIVERSAL SPORTS NETWORK

More Than 24 Hours of Coverage of the World’s Top Beach Volleyball Athletes 

First FIVB Grand Slam Tournament in United States in 10 Years

Athletes to include Pro Beach Volleyball Stars and Olympians Kerri Walsh Jennings, Todd Rogers, Phil Dalhausser, April Ross and Jennifer Kessy

Stamford, Conn – July 22, 2013 – NBC, NBC Sports Network, and Universal Sports Network will combine to present more than 24 hours of the Asics World Series of Beach Volleyball from Long Beach, Calif., July 25-28.

Featuring the world’s best professional beach volleyball players, the Asics World Series of Beach Volleyball is the first Fédération Internationale de Volleyball (FIVB) sanctioned Grand Slam tournament in the United States since 2003, and will include the inaugural World Series Cup, a special competition that will showcase the top U.S. men’s and women’s teams competing against the best teams from around the world.

Coverage begins Thursday, July 25 at 8 p.m. ET on NBC Sports Network, with the Grand Slam Women’s Quarterfinals. Action will continue throughout the weekend and will be highlighted by the World Series Cup Women’s Semifinals on Saturday, July 27 at 4 p.m. ET on NBC, and the World Series Cup Women’s Gold Medal Final airing Sunday, July 28 at 4:30 p.m. ET on NBC. In addition to programming on NBC and NBC Sports Network, Universal Sports Network will also provide 15 hours of coverage of the event.

Olympic gold medalist and veteran play-by-play commentator Chris Marlowe will call the action from Long Beach, Calif. Marlowe will be joined by beach volleyball Olympian and three-time All-American Kevin Wong, who will serve as an analyst. Julie Donaldson will report from the sideline.

The Asics World Series of Beach Volleyball is part of the prestigious FIVB annual World Tour, which features 10 Grand Slam events as well as the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championships. The event will be the 10th FIVB event ever held in the United States, and the fifth held in Southern California. NBC Sports Group, the FIVB, USA Volleyball and Management Plus Enterprises are partnering on the event, which will offer more than $500,000 in total prize money.

ATHLETES

The World Series of Beach Volleyball will feature 128 professional players from 16 different countries, including 10 Olympic medalists from the United States, Germany, Brazil and Latvia.  Pro Beach Volleyball stars and Olympians will include U.S. Gold Medalists Kerri Walsh Jennings, Todd Rogers, Phil Dalhausser and Silver Medalists April Ross and Jennifer Kessy.

ASICS World Series of Beach Volleyball Television Schedule: (All times ET)

DATE	EVENT	NETWORK	TIME
Thurs, July 25	Grand Slam Women’s Quarterfinals	NBCSN	8 pm
Thurs, July 25	Grand Slam Women’s Quarterfinals(Encore Presentation)	Universal	11 pm
Fri, July 26	Grand Slam Women’s Semifinals	Universal	1:30 pm
Fri, July 26	Grand Slam Women’s Bronze Medal	Universal	5 pm
Fri, July 26	Grand Slam Women’s Semifinals & Grand Slam Women’s Gold Medal Final	NBCSN	8 pm
Fri, July 26	Grand Slam Men’s Semifinals	Universal	10 pm
Sat, July 27	World Series Cup Women’s Semifinals	NBCSN	1 pm
Sat, July 27	Grand Slam Men’s Bronze Medal	Universal	2 pm
Sat, July 27	World Series Cup Women’s Semifinals	NBC	4 pm
Sat, July 27	Grand Slam Men’s Gold Medal Final	Universal	5:30 pm
Sat, July 27	World Series Cup Women’s Semifinals(Encore Presentation)	Universal	8 pm
Sun, July 28	World Series Cup Men’s Semifinals	Universal	1 pm
Sun, July 28	World Series Cup Women’s Gold Medal Final	NBC	4:30 pm
Sun, July 28	World Series Cup Men’s Gold Medal Final	Universal	11 pm
Sun, July 28	World Series Cup Women’s Gold Medal Final(Encore Presentation)	Universal	12 am

–NBC SPORTS GROUP–