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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, March 28th, 2017

NATHAN CHEN & ASHLEY WAGNER HEADLINE NBC SPORTS GROUP��S 22.5 HOURS OF 2017 ISU WORLD FIGURE SKATING CHAMPIONSHIPS COVERAGE

Live Coverage of the Ladies’ Free Skate This Friday at 1 p.m. ET on NBCSN; Coverage of the Men’s Free Skate This Saturday at 12:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN

NBC Presents Coverage of the Ladies’ and Men’s Free Skates Saturday at 8 p.m. ET

Coverage Begins Wednesday at Noon ET on NBCSN with Ladies’ Short Program Competition

Coverage Available on NBCSports.com & the NBC Sports app

STAMFORD, Conn. – March 28, 2017 – NBC Sports Group presents 22.5 hours of coverage of the 2017 ISU World Figure Skating Championships from Helsinki, Finland, highlighted by NBCSN’s live coverage of the ladies’ free skate this Friday, March 31, at 1 p.m. ET, and coverage of the men’s free skate this Saturday, April 1, at 12:30 p.m. ET. In addition, NBC will present an encore of the ladies’ and men’s free skates Saturday at 8 p.m. ET.

Coverage begins tomorrow, Wednesday, March 29, at Noon ET on NBCSN with the ladies’ short program, immediately followed by live coverage of the pairs’ short program. NBC Sports Group will cover every event in the four-day competition (full schedule below).

Play-by-play announcer Terry Gannon calls the action on NBC, as well as the live ladies’ and men’s free skate competitions on NBCSN. He will be joined by 1998 Olympic champion Tara Lipinski, three-time U.S. champion Johnny Weir, and Andrea Joyce, who will report from Hartwall Arena in Helsinki, Finland.

2006 Olympic ice dance silver medalist Tanith White will call the remaining action on NBCSN alongside 2011 U.S. champion Ryan Bradley (ladies’, men’s and pairs’ competitions), and Ben Agosto, her partner at the 2006 Olympics.

To receive three spots at the 2018 Olympic Games, the two best finishes (places) for the U.S. in each discipline must add up to no more than 13. Coverage of Olympic Sports on NBC Sports Group platforms is a presentation of the Olympic Channel, Home of Team USA.

2017 ISU WORLD FIGURE SKATING CHAMPIONSHIPS PREVIEW

LADIES: Representing the U.S. are reigning World silver medalist and three-time U.S. champion Ashley Wagner, who is competing at her seventh World Championships. In addition, 2017 U.S. Champion Karen Chen and 2017 U.S. bronze medalist Mariah Bell each make their World Championships debuts. Highlighting the international field are 2016 World champion Yevgenia Medvedeva and 2016 World bronze medalist Anna Pogorilaya of Russia, as well as 2012 World champion and 2014 Olympic bronze medalist Carolina Kostner of Italy.

MEN: 2017 Four Continents and U.S. champion Nathan Chen, who landed a record seven quad jumps between his two performances at the U.S. Championships, and 2015 U.S. champion Jason Brown will represent the U.S. Chen, who finished second at the Grand Prix Final in Marseille, France in December, is making his Worlds debut, while Brown is making his second appearance. The international field features three World champions: Javier Fernandez of Spain (2015-2016), 2014 Olympic gold medalist Yuzuru Hanyu of Japan (2014), and Patrick Chan of Canada (2011-2013).

PAIRS: 2017 U.S. pairs champions Haven Denney and Brandon Frazier make their second Worlds appearance after first qualifying in 2015, while 2016 Four Continents silver medalists Alexa Scimeca Knierim and Chris Knierim make their fourth Worlds appearance. Highlighting the international field are defending World champions Meagan Duhamel and Eric Radford of Canada, who will look for a third straight World title, two-time World silver medalists Sui Wenjing and Han Cong of China, and reigning Grand Prix Final champions Yevgenia Tarasova and Vladimir Morozov of Russia. Aliona Savchenko, who won two Olympic bronze medals and five world titles with former partner Robin Szolkowy, competes this week with Bruno Massot for Germany. Savchenko and Massot are the 2016 World bronze medalists.

ICE DANCE: 2017 U.S. champions Maia Shibutani and Alex Shibutani, the 2016 World silver medalists, compete at their seventh straight World Championships, along with 2015 World silver medalists Madison Chock and Evan Bates, and 2017 U.S. bronze medalists Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donohue. Highlighting the international field are two-time defending World champions Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron of France and 2010 Olympic gold medalists Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir of Canada.

Below is the schedule for NBC Sports Group’s coverage of the 2017  ISU World Figure Skating Championships:

 Coverage on NBCSN and NBC will be streamed on NBCSports.com, and the NBC Sports app via “TV Everywhere,” giving consumers additional value for their subscription service, and making high quality content available to MVPD customers both in and out of the home and on multiple platforms. Powered by Playmaker Media, the NBC Sports app is available on Apple iOS, Android and select Samsung devices, as well as on Amazon Fire, Apple TV, Chromecast, Roku, Win10, and Xbox.

–NBC SPORTS GROUP–