FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, October 15th, 2014

“NBC SPORTSWORLD” IS NEW LONG-FORM HOME OF NBC SPORTS DIGITAL

New Micro-Site to Exhibit Feature Stories, Essays, Short Films and Documentaries; Launches Today

Joe Posnanski has In-Depth Discussion with Dale Earnhardt Jr. as He Turns 40 about his Life, Career, and Relationship with His Father

Olympic & Golf Channel Documentaries Nancy & Tonya; Lokomotiv; Long Way Home: The Jessica Long Story; Space Race and Arnie will Live at NBCSportsWorld.com

STAMFORD, CT – October 15, 2014 – NBC Sports Digital announced today that it is launching NBC SportsWorld, a new micro-site within NBCSports.com dedicated to long-form storytelling. The new site launches today and will be populated with compelling long-form stories, essays, short films and documentaries, including select archived Olympic video. The announcement was made by Rick Cordella, SVP & GM, Digital Media, NBC Sports Group.

Named after NBC Sports’ television program in the 1980s, which featured global content from a variety of sports properties, NBCSportsWorld.com will be the home of exclusive long-form pieces from NBC Sports Digital’s contributors, including award-winning writer Joe Posnanski, Joe Prince-Wright of ProSoccerTalk, and Nick Zaccardi of OlympicTalk. In addition, contributions to NBC SportsWorld will come from writers at NBC Sports Group’s vast array of properties, including the NBC Sports Regional Networks, such as CSN Bay Area’s Ray Ratto; GolfChannel.com’s Rex Hoggard, Randall Mell and Jason Sobel; and RotoWorld, the leading fantasy sports information site.

NBCSportsWorld.com will also house documentaries and video features produced by the NBC Sports Group, which includes the Emmy Award-winning NBC Olympics and Golf Channel Films divisions. At launch, NBC SportsWorld will house:

  • Nancy & Tonya, in which Mary Carillolooks back at the events surrounding the ladies’ figure skating competition at the 1994 Olympic Winter Games with an exclusive sit-down with Nancy Kerrigan and a one-on-one interview with Tonya Harding. For a link to the video, click here.
  • Lokomotiv, narrated by Liev Schreiber, which chronicles the tragic events surrounding the crash of an airplane carrying the Lokomotiv Yaroslavl hockey team of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). For a link to the video, click here.
  • Long Way Home: The Jessica Long Story, which profiles Russian-born Jessica Long, a world-class swimmer and 12-time Paralympic gold medalist, who was adopted by American parents as she journeys from the States to Siberia to meet her birth family. For a link to the video, click here.
  • Space Race, in which NBC News special correspondent Tom Brokaw chronicles the Cold War space race between the United States and the Soviet Union. For a link to the video, click here.
  • Arnie, which showcases how golfing legend Arnold Palmer revolutionized and transcended the game to become one of the most beloved figures in sports history. For a link to the video, click here.

“Our SportsTalk strategy of providing readers with quick, impactful news posts multiple times a day has been incredibly successful. However, we will now complement that plan by tapping into NBC Sports Group’s rich history of long-form storytelling,” said Cordella. “NBC SportsWorld will create an immersive experience for our users with deep, thoughtful multimedia pieces written and produced by our talented roster of contributors from all facets of the NBC Sports Group.”

Content for NBC SportsWorld’s launch today also includes:

  • “This is SportsWorld,” written by Joe Posnanski, looks back at the original NBC SportsWorld, which aired in the 1980s, and connects to the site’s current mission. For a link to the story, click here.
  • Joe Posnanski has an in-depth discussion with Dale Earnhardt Jr. about his life, career and relationship with his father, as he celebrates his 40th For a link to the story, click here.
  • Joe Prince-Wright travels to Norway to profile Bob Bradley, the former U.S. Men’s National Team and current Stabaek (Norwegian first division) coach, to get a sense of his most recent and ambitious challenge in becoming the first American head coach of a European top-flight club. For a link to the story, click here.
  • Joe Posnanski travels with the Kansas City Royals from coast-to-coast during the playoffs to profile hard-nosed manager Ned Yost. Posnanski examines how the gruff, old-school coach has led his team to the brink of one of the unlikeliest World Series appearances of all time. For a link to the story, click here.
  • In “On the Cultural Relevance of YouTube,” Eric Angevine examines how the social media phenomenon has changed the way we experience sports. For a link to the story, click here.
  • Joe Posnanski is given full access to the CEO, manager and players of Burnley, a soccer club in a small English town promoted to the Premier League this season.  For a link to the story, click here.

In order to stay up to date with all of the latest features and videos on NBC SportsWorld, users can subscribe to a weekly newsletter that will be published each Friday recapping the previous week’s content on NBCSportsWorld.com. Readers can also follow NBC SportsWorld on Facebook at Facebook.com/NBCSportsWorld and Twitter @NBCSportsWorld.

For more on NBC Sports Digital, visit: http://nbcsportsgrouppressbox.com/shows/nbc-sports-digital/

–NBC SPORTS GROUP–