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Home > NBC Universal Buys into WCSN
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NBC Universal Buys into WCSN

June 23, 2008

NBC Sports, a division of NBC Universal (NBCU), announced it is partnering with World Championship Sports Network (WCSN) to create Universal Sports which will include both a television network and an online platform by combining NBCU's programming, production, and promotional expertise with WCSN's online destination for Olympic sports as well as its television network, creating a multiplatform destination for Olympic sports programming.

Universal Sports to Provide Year-Round Home to Olympic Sports

Dick Ebersol, chairman of NBC Universal Sports & Olympics said, "Universal Sports will provide a year-round home to almost all Olympic sports and the athletes who give our viewers such compelling stories."

Leo Hindery, Jr., managing partner of InterMedia Partners, the controlling shareholder of WCSN, stated, "We invested in WCSN because we believe that Olympic sports have a large and passionate following and other than NBCU, WCSN was the most responsible steward for this audience." He added, "It is a privilege and delight to see WCSN and NBCU now come together as partners, and the clear winners today are the fans of Olympic sports and the very sports themselves."

Universal Sports to Provide Comprehensive Olympic Sports Coverage

As part of the transaction, NBCU will become a significant shareholder in WCSN and will jointly control WCSN with InterMedia Partners. The WCSN management team, including chairman and CEO Claude Ruibal and president Carlos Silva, will continue to manage the company.

"WCSN is the leading rights holder of Olympic sports programming in between each Olympic Games offering fans comprehensive coverage of skiing, swimming, track and field, gymnastics, and more than 40 other Olympic sports disciplines," said Ruibal. "Under the new Universal Sports name, and with NBCU as a partner, the combined business will be the home of Olympic sports across all distribution platforms and will provide these sports and their athletes a real opportunity to get the consistent exposure they deserve."