FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, December 1st, 2016

USATF, NBC SPORTS GROUP INK HISTORIC MEDIA RIGHTS AGREEMENT

ORLANDO, Fla. – Dec. 1, 2016 – USA Track & Field and NBC Sports Group announced a historic eight-year partnership today that provides NBC Sports with the exclusive media rights to USA Track & Field’s live, elite-athlete competitions through 2024. It is the longest and most comprehensive agreement ever between the two parties. USATF CEO Max Siegel made the announcement on Thursday during his State of the Sport address at the 2016 USATF Annual Meeting in Orlando, Florida.

Every year from 2017 through 2024, NBC Sports will present at least 18 hours of live USATF event coverage, with no fewer than eight hours per year on the NBC broadcast network. NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app will stream all linear content as well as additional digital-only USATF programming. NBC Sports’ commitment to USATF properties such as the USATF Indoor and Outdoor Championships – as well as invitational events such as USA vs. The World at the Penn Relays, the Nike Prefontaine Classic, Millrose Games and Drake Relays – is in addition to its coverage of the 2020 and 2024 Olympic Trials and Olympic Games.

“NBC Sports’ commitment to USATF’s live media properties elevates our profile on all fronts, from competition to the bottom line,” USATF CEO Max Siegel said. “I want to personally thank Gary Zenkel and Peter Diamond for their collaboration. By working together to structure a true partnership, we are excited to have an exclusive home for all of our competitions. For the first time, fans will know that there is only one place to go for the best live domestic track & field broadcasts every year.”

“We are pleased to continue our relationship on a long-term basis with USA Track & Field under of the leadership of Max Siegel,” said Gary Zenkel, President, NBC Olympics. “This historic eight-year agreement is a tribute to the longstanding success of American track & field athletes, who earned 32 medals and 13 golds in Rio. We look forward to helping build more stars through the next eight years in the lead up to both Tokyo 2020 and the 2024 Games.”

NBC Sports will also televise USATF’s annual Black Tie & Sneakers Gala, a red-carpet affair that includes the USATF National Track & Field Hall of Fame Induction and special awards to the sport’s top legends and contributors.

ABOUT NBC SPORTS GROUP

When the Comcast-NBCUniversal transaction was completed in January 2011, the sports assets of the two companies combined to form NBC Sports Group, which serves sports fans 24/7 with premier live events, insightful studio shows, and compelling original programming. The sports media company consists of NBC Sports, NBC Olympics, NBCSN, Golf Channel, NBC Sports Regional Networks, NBC Sports Radio and NBC Sports Digital, which includes NBCSports.com, NBCOlympics.com, GolfChannel.com, the digital assets of the NBC Sports Regional Networks, Rotoworld, the NBC Sports Talk franchise, multiple apps, and two transactional sports businesses, GolfNow and SportsEngine. NBC Sports Group possesses an unparalleled collection of television rights agreements, partnering with some of the most prestigious sports properties in the world: the International Olympic Committee and United States Olympic Committee, the NFL, NHL, NASCAR, PGA TOUR, The R&A, PGA of America, Churchill Downs, Premier League, Tour de France, French Open, Formula One, IndyCar and many more.

About USATF

USA Track & Field (USATF) is the National Governing Body for track and field, long-distance running and race walking in the United States. USATF encompasses the world’s oldest organized sports, some of the most-watched events of Olympic broadcasts, the country’s No. 1 high school and junior high school participatory sport and more than 30 million adult runners in the United States. For more information on USATF, visit http://www.usatf.org.

–NBC SPORTS GROUP–