DENVER (July 11) – In advance of the 2014 Olympic Winter Games, ski and snowboard fans received a big boost this week when Universal Sports Network announced a new TV distribution deal with Time Warner Cable - the second-largest U.S. cable system operator. Universal Sports Network, which is also available on Direct TV, will now be available some 40 million U.S. homes, including major markets like New York City and Los Angeles. The distribution deal includes coverage of FIS World Cup featuring international alpine stars Lindsey Vonn (Vail, CO), Bode Miller (Franconia, NH), Ted Ligety (Park City, UT) and Mikaela Shiffrin (Eagle-Vail, CO) along with cross country World Champion Kikkan Randall (Anchorage).
HIGHLIGHTS
- Universal Sports Network and Time Warner Cable (TWC) announced a multi-year agreement to deliver the network’s exclusive year-round coverage of Olympic and endurance sports programming, including the FIS World Cup, to TWC’s Sports Pass subscribers.
- Universal Sports Network will be available to TWC Sports Pass subscribers in the majority of TWC markets later this summer. The deal also gives TWC comprehensive TV Everywhere rights, VOD content and Universal Sports Max, a secondary events broadband channel.
- Universal Sports Network has the exclusive U.S. distribution rights for the Olympic qualifying FIS World Cup tour, including alpine, nordic, snowboarding, freeskiing and freestyle tours.
- Universal Sports has been the home for season-long coverage of the Audi FIS Alpine World Cup, along with bringing other FIS events like the cross country Tour de Ski to America.
QUOTES
Mike Jaquet, Chief Marketing Officer, U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association
Maximizing exposure for U.S. Ski Team athletes is a major priority for the USSA and this agreement between Universal Sports Network and Time Warner further helps that initiative. We are encouraged that Time Warner Cable has seen the value in this and will continue to work with our partners at Universal Sports Network to continue to build out this very valuable platform.
Scott Brown, President, Universal Sports Network
We are thrilled that Time Warner Cable sees value in Universal Sports Network. We look forward to serving Time Warner Cable’s customers with exciting, global sports coverage on multiple platforms
Alexis Johnson, Vice President of Content Acquisition, Time Warner Cable
Time Warner Cable customers will soon be able to enjoy the year-round coverage of championship sports programming found only on Universal Sports. We are delighted to be able to provide our Sports Pass subscribers with access to coverage of the Olympic sports they love on multiple platforms.
