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–

12 hours of Track and Field coming this weekend on NBC Sports Networks

NBC, NBC Sports Network, and Universal Sports will combine to carry 12 hours of the US Outdoor Championships this weekend. ESPN has the rights to Friday nights coverage, but their hours aren't included in this release. 

NBC SPORTS GROUP AND UNIVERSAL SPORTS NETWORK PRESENT 12 HOURS OF TRACK AND FIELD COVERAGE THIS WEEKEND

Premiere of Track and Field 36 Features Sanya Richards-Ross Tonight at 7 p.m. ET on NBC Sports Network

Live Coverage of 2013 U.S. Track & Field Outdoor Championships on NBC, NBC Sports Network, Universal Sports Network and NBC Sports Live Extra

STAMFORD, Conn. – June 21, 2013 – NBC Sports Group presents 12 hours of track and field coverage this weekend highlighted by the premiere of Track and Field 36 tonight and live coverage of the U.S. Track & Field Outdoor Championships on NBC, NBC Sports Network, Universal Sports Network and NBC Sports Live Extra. Coverage begins tonight at 7 p.m. ET with the debut of Track and Field 36 which will go behind-the-scenes with Olympic gold medalist Sanya Richards-Ross, one of the most-decorated female track and field Olympians of all time.

Live coverage of the 2013 U.S. Track & Field Outdoor Championships begins on Saturday, June 22, at 4 p.m. ET on Universal Sports and is followed by more live coverage on NBC Sports Network at 5 p.m. ET.

Sunday’s live coverage begins at 2 p.m. ET on Universal Sports, 3 p.m. ET on NBC Sports Network and concludes on NBC at 4 p.m. ET.

The 2013 U.S. Track & Field Outdoor Championships serves as the selection event for spots on Team USA for the IAAF World Championships from August 10-18 in Moscow, Russia, which will also air on NBC and Universal Sports.

NBC’s Olympic track and field broadcast team of Tom Hammond, Ato Boldon, Lewis Johnson,Dwight Stones and Craig Masback will call the action from Drake Stadium at Des Moines, Iowa.

Final events televised include: women’s long jump, women’s hammer throw, women’s 300m St, men’s 400m hurdles, women’s 1,500m, women’s 400m, men’s 400m, men’s 1,500m, women’s 100m hurdles, women’s pole vault, men’s high jump, men’s javelin, men’s shot put, women’s discus throw, men’s long jump, men’s 110m hurdles, women’s 800m, men’s 800m, women’s 5000m, women’s 400m hurdles, men’s 3,000m St, women’s 200m, men’s 5,000m and men’s 110m hurdles.

Track and field television schedule this week follows (subject to change, all times ET):

Date	Time	Event	Network
Fri., June 21	7 p.m.	Track and Field 36: Sanya Richards-Ross	NBCSN
	11:30 p.m.	Track and Field 36 Encore	NBCSN
Sat., June 22	4 p.m.	U.S. Track & Field Championships	Universal Sports
	5 p.m.	U.S. Track & Field Championships	NBCSN
Sun., June 23	2 p.m.	U.S. Track & Field Championships	Universal Sports
	3 p.m.	U.S. Track & Field Championships	NBCSN
	4 p.m.	U.S. Track & Field Championships	NBC
	6:30 p.m.	U.S. Track & Field Championships Encore	Universal Sports
Mon., June 24	4 p.m.	U.S. Track & Field Championships Encore	Universal Sports

Universal Sports’ encore presentation on Saturday at 6:30 p.m. will feature NBC Sports Network’s Saturday show. Universal Sports’ encore on Monday at 4 p.m. will feature NBC’s Sunday programming.

DIGITAL COVERAGE

NBC Sports Live Extra – the NBC Sports Group’s live streaming product for desktops, mobile devices, and tablets — will live stream NBC, NBC Sports Network and additional coverage.

NBC Sports Network telecasts will be live streamed via “TV Everywhere,” the media industry’s effort to make quality content available to MVPD customers both in and out of the home and on multiple platforms.

For desktops, NBC Sports Live Extra can be accessed at NBCSports.com/liveextra. The NBC Sports Live Extra app for mobile devices and tablets is available at the App Store for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch, and on select Android handset and tablet devices within Google Play.

Coverage airing on:

• NBC will live stream to PCs, mobile devices and tablets through NBC Sports Live Extra.
• NBC Sports Network will live stream to PCs, mobile devices and tablets through NBC Sports Live Extra, and to the digital platforms of participating cable, satellite, and telco services, via “TV Everywhere.” “TV Everywhere” is available on an authenticated basis to subscribers of participating MVPDs.

Universal Sports Network’s live coverage will be streamed online at UniversalSports.com and via the network’s iPad app.

Click here for the participating cable/satellite/telco companies offering NBC Sports Live Extra: http://nbcsportsgrouppressbox.com/2013/06/06/nbc-sports-live-extra-providers/

About 36 Series: The NBC Sports Network original 36 Series is produced by IMS Productions and gives viewers an all-access pass into the life of an athlete in the middle of a season. For each episode, cameras will follow an athlete for 36 hours, providing a behind-the-scenes look at their on- and off-field activities. The 36 Series includes NHL 36, MLS 36, IndyCar 36, F1 36 and Fight Night 36.

– NBC SPORTS GROUP –

Asics World Series of Beach Volleyball to air on Networks of NBC

The Federation Internationale de Volleyball (FIVB) is regarded as being one of the top beach volleyball competitions around the world. Now, for the first time in 10 years, the Feeration is sponsoring an event on American Soil. The FIVB is bringing the tour back to the United States in the form of the Asics World Series of Beach Volleyball.

The series will feature two competitions- a World Series Cup in which the to US men's and women's teams will compete against other countries top ranked teams, and the actual Grand Slam Finals, which are part of the 10 stop world tour FIVB sponsors. The evnt will air all across the networks of NBC on NBC, NBC Sports Network, and Universal Sports. Here is the Press Release issued today regarding the competition and its TV sponsors.

WORLD‘S TOP BEACH VOLLEYBALL STARS CONVERGE FOR THE ASICS WORLD SERIES OF BEACH VOLLEYBALL JULY 22-28, ON NBC, NBC SPORTS NETWORK, AND UNIVERSAL SPORTS NETWORK

First FIVB Tournament in United States in 10 Years

More Than $500,000 In Prize Money At Stake

El Segundo, Calif. and New York, N.Y. – May 21, 2013 – The world’s best professional beach volleyball players will descend on Long Beach, Calif., July 22-28 for the Asics World Series of Beach Volleyball.  The event 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 feature the top U.S. men’s and women’s teams competing against the best teams from around the world.  NBC, NBC Sports Network and Universal Sports Network will provide more than 20 hours of programming of the competitions, including telecasts of the Men’s and Women’s Grand Slam Finals and World Series Cup Finals.

Coverage begins Thursday, July 25 at 8 p.m. ET on NBC Sports Network with the Women’s Grand Slam Quarterfinals, and will continue through the weekend. The World Series Cup Women’s Finals will air Saturday, July 27 at 4 p.m. ET on NBC, with the Men’s Finals 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 more than 13 hours of coverage of the event.

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.  In addition to title sponsor Asics, Bud Light, Paul Mitchell, Sabra, Barefoot Wine, and Mikasa have also signed on as sponsors.

The Asics World Series of Beach Volleyball will be part of the prestigious FIVB annual World Tour, which features 10 Grand Slam events as well as the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championships. It is the 10th FIVB event ever held in the United States, the fifth in Southern California and the first since the World Tour visited Southern California in 2003.

“The Asics World Series of Beach Volleyball will be an extraordinary beach volleyball and beach culture experience,” said event creator and promoter Leonard Armato.  “Not only will we have the best players in the world competing as they did in the Olympic Games, but we will go beyond that by incorporating the highest level of four-person and six-person beach volleyball. Finally, we will also be integrating a beach music festival throughout the event.”

“We are excited to bring an officially sanctioned FIVB event back to the United States for the first time in almost 10 years,” said Rob Simmelkjaer, Senior Vice President, NBC Sports Ventures and International. “Beach volleyball was tremendously successful during the 2012 London Olympics, and the Asics World Series of Beach Volleyball will be a compelling event.”

“We are very pleased to return to the traditional home of beach volleyball in the United States and California,” FIVB President Ary Graca said. “The Asics World Series of Beach Volleyball Long Beach will be one of 10 Grand Slam events for what will be a dynamic beach volleyball season that reaches all the major volleyball countries of the world, ensuring beach volleyball has a global presence and bright future. We are also excited to have NBC, NBC Sports Network, and Universal Sports as our telecast partners and look forward to working together as we did at the Olympic Games where beach volleyball was such a resounding success.”

“USA Volleyball is very pleased that an FIVB Beach Volleyball Grand Slam Event will be returning to the United States for the first time since 2003,” said USA Volleyball Chief Executive Officer Doug Beal. “The partnership that has been forged between the FIVB, Management Plus Enterprises and NBC Sports Group creates a dynamic showcase for beach volleyball to a global audience.”

–NBC SPORTS GROUP–

The Rumble in the Rails to air live on NBC Sports Network & Universal

For those fans who are complaining about wrestling going the way of the dinosaur (at least outside of the WWE and TNA), the networks of NBC have a treat in store for you. Real life wrestling, not sports entertainment, will be featured live on NBC Sport Network and Universal Sports next Wednesday. NBC outlines the deails in this press release.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, May 9th, 2013

NBC SPORTS NETWORK TO AIR USA VS. IRAN WRESTLING FROM HISTORIC GRAND CENTRAL STATION IN NEW YORK CITY

“The Rumble on the Rails” Live Dual airs Wednesday, May 15 at 3:30 p.m. ET

Universal Sports to Air USA vs. Russia Wednesday, May 15 at 6 p.m. ET

New York – May 9, 2013 – USA Wrestling, NBC Sports Network and Universal Sports combine to present “The Rumble on the Rails,” live wrestling featuring the national teams from the USA, Iran and Russia, from Vanderbilt Hall in historic Grand Central Terminal in New York City on Wednesday, May 15.

Fans can see the nationally-televised matches beginning with the USA vs. Iran freestyle wrestling dual meet on NBC Sports Network, 3:30-5 p.m. ET. Calling the action will be play-by-play announcer Jason Knapp, with color commentary from Olympic champion Rulon Gardner and reporter Jimmy Roberts.

NBC Sports Live Extra — the NBC Sports Group’s live streaming product for desktops, mobile devices, and tablets — will stream NBC Sports Network’s coverage of “Rumble on the Rails” live via “TV Everywhere,” the media industry’s effort to make quality content available to authenticated customers both in and out of the home and on multiple platforms.

For desktops, NBC Sports Live Extra can be accessed at NBCSports.com/liveextra. The NBC Sports Live Extra app for mobile devices and tablets is available at the App Store for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch, and on select Android handset and tablet devices within Google Play.

Coverage continues with USA vs. Russia from 6-7:30 p.m. ET on Universal Sports. This event will feature competition in all three Olympic styles of wrestling. It is expected that some experimental wrestling rules will be used, as part of the international effort to improve the sport of wrestling. This match will also be streamed live on UniversalSports.com to authenticated users.

Knapp will handle the play-by-play of this event as well, with reporting from Roberts. The color commentator for this match is yet to be announced.

Lineups for the USA, Iran and Russian teams will be announced shortly.

“The Rumble on the Rails” is part of the annual Beat the Streets Gala, which will be held following the competition at Bryant Park Grill, and raises funds for youth wrestling programs in New York City. It is also a showcase competition as part of World Wrestling Month, which was declared by the international wrestling federation FILA.

This is the second straight year that NBC Sports Network and Universal Sports have aired a major wrestling event affiliated with the Beat the Streets Gala. In June, 2012, these networks both aired “The Grapple in the Big Apple” from Times Square in New York City. ”The Grapple in the Big Apple” featured a USA vs. Russia freestyle dual meet and the U.S. Olympic Team Wrestle-off for the 60 kg/132 lbs. position on the U.S. Olympic Team in men’s freestyle wrestling.

As part of World Wrestling Month, “The Rumble on the Rails” is an important event in the Keep Olympic Wrestling movement, an international effort to retain wrestling as a sport on the program of the 2020 Olympic Games and beyond.

ABOUT NBC OLYMPICS

A division of the NBC Sports Group, NBC Olympics is responsible for producing, programming and promoting NBCUniversal’s Olympic coverage. It is renowned for its unsurpassed Olympic heritage, award-winning production, and ability to aggregate the largest audiences in U.S. television history.

Having produced every summer Olympic Games since Seoul in 1988 and every Olympic Winter Games since Salt Lake City in 2002, the networks of NBCUniversal are synonymous with the Games in the United States. In 2011, NBCUniversal acquired the U.S. media rights on all platforms to the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games, the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, the Pyeongchang 2018 Olympic Winter Games, and the 2020 Olympic Games. At the conclusion of the 2020 Games, NBCUniversal will have presented 17 total Olympic Games and 11 consecutive, the most for a U.S. media company in both categories.

NBC has won an unprecedented 96 Emmy Awards for its Olympics coverage, as well as a prestigious Peabody Award for its presentation of the Beijing Opening Ceremony in 2008, which USA Today said was “the best overall Olympic experience ever provided by a U.S. network.”

In addition to its unsurpassed heritage and award-winning production, NBCUniversal is known for aggregating large Olympic audiences, as nine of the top 11 most-watched U.S. television events of all time are Olympic Games presented across the networks of NBCUniversal. The London Olympic Games rank No. 1 with more than 217 million viewers.

ABOUT BEAT THE STREETS

The mission of Beat the Streets is to develop the full human and athletic potential of the urban youth and to strengthen the culture of New York City wrestling. BTSW works directly with the New York City Department of Education in a public-private partnership to help New York City’s student-athletes achieve their personal and athletic goals. Through the operation of wrestling programs in middle and high schools in the five boroughs, BTSW and the DOE provide a safe, positive atmosphere in which disadvantaged and at-risk youth can learn the essential life skills of physical fitness, teamwork, and self-empowerment. The goal of fostering strong, dedicated, and optimistic kids is delivered through coaching, after-school programs, and mentoring. More information can be found at www.beat-the-streets.org.

ABOUT USA WRESTLING

USA Wrestling is the National Governing Body for the Sport of Wrestling in the United States and, as such, is its representative to the United States Olympic Committee and the International Wrestling Federation FILA. Simply, USA Wrestling is the central organization that coordinates amateur wrestling programs in the nation and works to create interest and participation in these programs. Its president is James Ravannack, and its Executive Director is Rich Bender.

ABOUT KEEP OLYMPIC WRESTLING

In the United States, the official website is http://www.KeepWrestlingInTheOlympics.com, on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/officialkeepwrestlingintheolympics, and on Twitter @wrestlingvision.

The international links for FILA are http://www.fila-official.com/, on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/fila.official and on Twitter @FILA_Official.

–NBC Sports Group–