NBCSN to Televise One-Hour Special Highlighting First America’s Cup World Series Race of 2016
NBC Sports Group To Present More Than 10 Hours of Louis Vuitton America’s Cup World Series Coverage
Stamford, Conn. – March 11, 2016 – NBCSN will continue its coverage of the Louis Vuitton America’s Cup World Series, this Saturday, March 12 at 6 p.m. ET, with a one-hour highlight show featuring the fourth stage of World Series racing from Muscat, Oman. In addition to being telecast on NBCSN, coverage will also be streamed on NBC Sports Live Extra. Saturday’s highlight coverage from Oman is part of more than 10 hours of America’s Cup World Series coverage on NBCSN and NBC Sports Live Extra.
Featuring the best sailors in the world, six crews from six countries are competing in the Louis Vuitton America’s Cup World Series. Teams include defending America’s Cup champion ORACLE TEAM USA (USA), led by two-time America’s Cup winner Jimmy Spithill, Artemis Racing (Sweden), Emirates Team New Zealand (New Zealand), Groupama Team France (France), Land Rover BAR (Great Britain), and SoftBank Team Japan (Japan). All teams are competing in foiling, wingsailed catamarans – an updated version of the AC45 ships raced in the previous iteration of the series.
The Louis Vuitton America’s Cup World Series is the primary stage of the America’s Cup, and began in the summer of 2015 with events in Portsmouth, Great Britain; Gothenburg, Sweden and Hamilton, Bermuda. Overall ranking position in the Louis Vuitton America’s Cup World Series determines the starting points score of the teams competing in the America’s Cup Qualifiers and Challenger Playoffs. Once determined, the winning team of the Challenger Playoffs will then race against defending America’s Cup winner ORACLE TEAM USA, in the 2017 America’s Cup Finals.
The 35th America’s Cup and America’s Cup Finals will take place in Hamilton Harbor, Bermuda in June of 2017.
Todd Harris will handle play-by-play for the telecast, and will be joined by analyst and accomplished America’s Cup sailor Ken Reed.
NBC SPORTS GROUP’S AMERICA’S CUP COVERAGE
NBC Sports Group is the exclusive U.S. television partner of the America’s Cup. In 2016-17, NBC, NBCSN and NBC Sports Live Extra will combine to provide more than 35 hours of coverage of the America’s Cup Finals, America’s Cup Qualifiers and Challenger Playoffs, and America’s Cup World Series.
NBC Sports Group’s coverage of the 35th America’s Cup marks the second consecutive presentation of the event on NBC, NBCSN and NBC Sports Live Extra. NBC Sports Group previously served as the U.S. television home of the 34th America’s Cup, in which ORACLE TEAM USA staged a dramatic comeback, winning eight consecutive races to come from behind and defeat Emirates Team New Zealand, 9-8.
– NBC Sports Group –