FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, December 9th, 2015

2015 ISU GRAND PRIX OF FIGURE SKATING FINAL BEGINS TOMORROW, THURS., DEC. 10, AT 8 PM ET ON UNIVERSAL HD WITH CONTINUING COVERAGE ON NBC

Coverage Continues This Friday at 8 p.m. ET on Universal HD, Culminating Sunday, Dec. 20, at 4 p.m. ET on NBC

Johnny Weir, Tara Lipinski & Terry Gannon Host with Analyst Tracy Wilson On-Site in Barcelona, Spain

STAMFORD, Conn. – December 9, 2015 – NBC Sports Group continues its coverage of the 2015 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Series with the Grand Prix Final in Barcelona, Spain. Coverage of the pairs’ and men’s short program begins tomorrow, Thursday, Dec. 10, at 8 p.m. ET on Universal HD. Coverage continues this Friday, Dec. 11, at 8 p.m. ET with the short dance, pairs’ free skate and ladies’ short programs on Universal HD, with the free dance this Saturday, Dec. 12, at 8 p.m. ET on Universal HD. NBC presents highlights of the competition next Sunday, Dec. 20, at 4 p.m. ET.

2014 Olympic team bronze medalist Gracie Gold will compete for the U.S. in her first Grand Prix Final after placing first at 2015 Grand Prix France and winning silver at 2015 Skate America. 2014 Olympic team bronze medalist and 2015 U.S. champion Ashley Wagner competes in her fourth consecutive Grand Prix Final, and enters the event in Barcelona as the defending Grand Prix Final bronze medalist. Wagner won gold at 2015 Skate Canada and finished fourth at 2015 Grand Prix Japan.

Highlighting the international field are three-time World champion Mao Asada of Japan, who will attempt to become the first singles skater to win five Grand Prix Final titles, and teammates Yelena Radyonova and Yevgenia Medvedeva of Russia, both World junior champions. 2014 Olympic and World champion Yuzuru Hanyu of Japan could become the first man to win three straight titles at the Grand Prix Final, facing competition from 2015 World champion Javier Fernandez of Spain.

COMMENTATORS: NBC Sports Group’s lead figure skating commentary team of three-time U.S. figure skating champion Johnny Weir, 1998 Olympic gold medalist Tara Lipinski and play-by-play announcer Terry Gannon will host coverage. Analyst Tracy Wilson will report on-site from the Barcelona International Convention Centre in Barcelona, Spain.

Below is the schedule for NBC Sports Group’s Grand Prix Final coverage:

Date Time (ET) Event Network
Thurs., Dec. 10 8-10 p.m. Pairs and Men’s Short Universal HD
Fri., Dec. 11 8-11 p.m. Short Dance, Pairs Free, Ladies Short Universal HD
Sat., Dec. 12 8-9 p.m. Free Dance Universal HD
Sun., Dec. 20 4-6 p.m. Grand Prix Final Highlights NBC
Fri., Dec. 25 4-6 p.m. Grand Prix Final Highlights Encore  Universal HD

The Grand Prix Series, now in its 21st season, consists of six international events in a cumulative point-scoring format. The top six point-earners in each discipline qualify for the 2015 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final. This season, the first alternate (7th place) in each discipline qualified for the Final if they participated at Grand Prix France, which was cut short due to a state of emergency in France. Pairs is the only discipline fielding a 7th-place team.

NBC SPORTS LIVE EXTRA

NBC Sports Live Extra — NBC Sports Group’s live streaming product for desktops, mobile devices, tablets, and connected TVs — will stream coverage via “TV Everywhere,” giving consumers additional value to for their subscription service, and making high quality content available to MVPD customers both in and out of the home and on multiple platforms. The NBC Sports Live Extra app is available on the iTunes App Store, Google Play, Windows Store, Roku Channel Store and Apple TV. For desktops, NBC Sports Live Extra can be accessed at NBCSports.com/liveextra.

–NBC SPORTS GROUP–