FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, December 12th, 2019
MIKAELA SHIFFRIN & U.S. VS. CANADA IN WOMEN’S HOCKEY HEADLINE THIS WEEK’S OLYMPIC PROGRAMMING ACROSS NBC SPORTS
Shiffrin Continues Historic Alpine Skiing World Cup Success in St. Moritz; Men Compete in Slalom & Giant Slalom at Val d’Isere; Coverage Begins This Saturday on Olympic Channel: Home of Team USA
Special “Mikaela’s Masterpiece” Show on Shiffrin’s Dominant 2019 Season Airs on NBCSN This Saturday at 2 p.m. ET
U.S. Women’s National Hockey Team Faces Canada in First 2019-20 Rivalry Series Matchup Live on NBCSN Saturday at 7 p.m. ET
Additional Olympic Sports Programming this Week Includes U.S. Grand Prix, Cross-Country Skiing World Cup, World Rugby Sevens Series, World Cup Speed Skating, Freestyle Skiing & Snowboarding World Cup, Women’s World Handball Championship, Biathlon World Cup, Bobsled & Skeleton World Cup, Ski Jumping World Cup & Luge World Cup
All Olympic Sports Coverage Televised and Streamed Across NBC Sports Platforms is Presented by Olympic Channel: Home of Team USA
STAMFORD, Conn. – Dec. 12, 2019 – This week’s Olympic programming across NBC Sports is highlighted by the winningest slalom skier in World Cup history Mikaela Shiffrin, and the U.S. Women’s National Hockey Team, gold medalists at the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics.
Shiffrin headlines the field competing in this weekend’s alpine skiing World Cup with women’s events in St. Moritz, Switzerland. A three-time Olympic medalist, Shiffrin won four of the five super-G races she competed in last year.
Olympic Channel: Home of Team USA will present live coverage beginning on Saturday at 4:27 a.m. ET with the women’s super-G, and will continue coverage with the men’s slalom at 7 a.m. ET. Sunday’s live coverage on Olympic Channel: Home of Team USA begins at 6:30 a.m. ET with the presentation of the men’s giant slalom, followed by the women’s parallel slalom at 7:30 a.m. ET.
The men’s World Cup field will compete this weekend in Val d’Isere, France, where two-time Olympic gold medalist Ted Ligety and two-time Olympian Tommy Ford are expected to lead the American men in giant slalom. Ford, 30, won his first career World Cup race on Sunday at the Birds of Prey giant slalom in Beaver Creek, Colorado. On Saturday, 22-year-old Luke Winters will look to earn his first World Cup points in the slalom.
In addition, a special program on Shiffrin, entitled “Mikaela’s Masterpiece”, will air on NBCSN this Saturday at 2 p.m. ET. The half-hour special showcases her biggest moments throughout the year and gives viewers an all-access look at Team Shiffrin during the 2019 campaign. The program highlights one of the greatest years in the history of alpine ski racing, when Shiffrin won 17 World Cup races, four crystal globes, and her third straight overall globe, all at the age of 24. A trailer can be viewed here.
The U.S. Women’s National Hockey Team will face Canada in Hartford, Connecticut, on Saturday at 7 p.m. ET on NBCSN, as part of the Team USA Champions Series presented by Xfinity. The game is the first of the 2019-20 Rivalry Series, a U.S.-Canada competition which debuted last year. Canada won two of the three meetings in the 2018-2019 series and this season’s series includes five games between now and February. The team is captained by Kendall Coyne Schofield. Play-by-play commentator John Walton and analyst AJ Mleczko will call the action.
All coverage on NBC and NBCSN will stream on NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app. All coverage on Olympic Channel: Home of Team USA will stream on OlympicChannel.com and the Olympic Channel app, in addition to NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app. Coverage of Olympic Sports on NBC Sports Group platforms is a presentation of Olympic Channel: Home of Team USA.
Additional Olympic sports programming this week includes:
U.S. GRAND PRIX – COPPER MOUNTAIN, COLORADO
LIVE COVERAGE TOMORROW AT 1:30 P.M. ET ON NBCSN; SATURDAY AT 2:30 P.M. ET ON NBCSN
The freestyle skiing and snowboarding World Cup continues with the U.S. Grand Prix in Copper Mountain, Colorado. The competition will feature snowboarding and freestyle skiing halfpipe events. 2018 Olympic silver medalist Alex Ferreira is expected to headline the freestyle skiers in Copper alongside two-time Olympic ski halfpipe gold medalist David Wise, who is expecting to return from a broken femur, which he sustained earlier in 2019. PyeongChang bronze medalist Arielle Gold and 2018 Olympian Maddie Mastro are expected to lead the U.S. snowboarders.
Live coverage will be shown on NBCSN beginning tomorrow at 1:30 p.m. ET. Action will be called by Todd Harris, Luke Van Valin and Tina Dixon. Saturday’s coverage on NBCSN will begin at 2:30 p.m. ET and will feature Harris, Dixon and Todd Richards calling the day’s events.
CROSS-COUNTRY SKIING WORLD CUP – DAVOS, SWITZERLAND
LIVE COVERAGE BEGINS SATURDAY AT 8 A.M. ET ON OLYMPIC CHANNEL: HOME OF TEAM USA AND NBC SPORTS GOLD
The cross-country skiing World Cup season continues this weekend in Davos, Switzerland. Two-time Olympian Sadie Maubet Bjornsen and 2018 Olympic team sprint gold medalist Jessie Diggins currently lead the U.S. women’s team. Sadie’s brother Erik Bjornsen is the top American in the men’s standings.
Olympic Channel: Home of Team USA and NBC Sports Gold have live coverage beginning Saturday at 8 a.m. ET with coverage of the men’s and women’s sprint. Sunday’s coverage will begin at 4:35 a.m. ET on NBC Sports Gold with the women’s 10km, which will also air later in the morning on Olympic Channel: Home of Team USA at 9 a.m. ET. NBC Sports Gold will additionally present the men’s 15km live on Sunday at 8:55 a.m. ET.
WORLD RUGBY SEVENS SERIES – CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA
ALL MATCHES SHOWN LIVE ON NBC SPORTS GOLD
The 2019-20 World Rugby Sevens Series continues this week with men’s and women’s tournaments in Cape Town, South Africa. This will mark the second of 10 events for the men, and the third of eight stops for the women this season, which runs through May. The No. 2-ranked U.S. women, who finished second behind New Zealand in last year’s series, won the opening tournament in October, defeating Australia in the final. The U.S. men, who also finished second last year, opened the season as the world’s No. 2-ranked team but suffered an early quarterfinal exit at last weekend’s tournament in Dubai.
Live television coverage on Olympic Channel: Home of Team USA starts tomorrow morning at 6:50 a.m. ET with women’s pool play. Pool play continues tomorrow with the men in action at 7 p.m. ET and Saturday at 10:45 a.m. ET. On Sunday, Olympic Channel: Home of Team USA presents coverage of the semifinals and medal matches at 10:30 a.m. ET. All matches will be shown live on NBC Sports Gold.
WORLD CUP SPEED SKATING – NAGANO, JAPAN
NBC SPORTS GOLD PRESENTS LIVE COVERAGE AT 2:05 A.M. ET TOMORROW, SATURDAY AND SUNDAY
The World Cup speed skating season continues this weekend in Nagano, Japan. Two-time Olympian and 2018 Olympic team pursuit bronze medalist Brittany Bowe and two-time Olympian and 2017 mass start world champion Joey Mantia are expected to headline the American contingent. Bowe has won two 1000m races on the World Cup circuit so far this season, including last week in Kazakhstan. Dating back to last season, she has won six straight World Cup 1000m races. Mantia, meanwhile, won the mass start last month at the World Cup in Poland.
NBC Sports Gold presents live coverage of the three-day event at 2:05 a.m. ET each day this weekend, beginning tomorrow. Olympic Channel: Home of Team USA will additionally present television coverage throughout the weekend, starting on Saturday at 2 a.m. ET. Jason Knapp and Joey Cheek will call the action.
FREESTYLE SKIING & SNOWBOARDING WORLD CUP
OLYMPIC CHANNEL: HOME OF TEAM USA AND NBC SPORTS GOLD PRESENT LIVE COVERAGE SATURDAY AND SUNDAY AT 12:30 A.M. ET
The freestyle skiing World Cup continues in Thaiwoo, China, with the second moguls event of the season. The United States is expected to be led by 23-year-old Jaelin Kauf, who finished second in the women’s World Cup moguls standings last season and was the top American at the season opener last week, finishing fourth. The Americans will also compete in freestyle skiing and snowboarding big air competitions in Beijing, where three-time Olympic medalist and 2018 Olympic big air silver medalist Jamie Anderson is expected to lead the U.S. team. The big air event will take place at Shougang Park, a venue that will be used in the 2022 Beijing Olympics.
NBC Sports presents coverage of big air on Saturday at 5 p.m. ET on NBCSN and on Sunday at 9 p.m. on NBCSN. For a full schedule, click here.
WOMEN’S WORLD HANDBALL CHAMPIONSHIP – KUMAMOTO, JAPAN
LIVE COVERAGE OF ALL MATCHES TO STREAM ON OLYMPIC CHANNEL.COM AND THE OLYMPIC CHANNEL APP
The Women’s World Handball Championship continues this week from Kumamoto, Japan with semifinal matchups between Russia vs. Netherlands and Norway vs. Spain, leading to the bronze and gold medal matches taking place on Sunday live on OlympicChannel.com and the Olympic Channel app. The winner (second-place finisher if Olympic host Japan wins) will earn a team quota place for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
For a complete schedule of the Championships, click here.
BIATHLON WORLD CUP – HOCHFILZEN, AUSTRIA
COVERAGE ON OLYMPIC CHANNEL: HOME OF TEAM USA BEGINS TOMORROW AT 12:30 P.M. ET
The second stop of the Biathlon World Cup continues this week in Hochfilzen, Austria. The U.S. team will feature 2018 Olympians Sean Doherty and Leif Nordgren for the men, while the women are expected to be led by two-time Olympian Susan Dunklee, and Clare Egan, who was the top American finisher in the World Cup standings last season.
Olympic Channel: Home of Team USA presents coverage beginning tomorrow with the women’s 7.5km sprint at 12:30 p.m. ET. Coverage continues Saturday at 9:30 a.m. ET and starts on Sunday at 12:30 p.m. ET. All events will be shown live on NBC Sports Gold.
BOBSLED & SKELETON WORLD CUP – LAKE PLACID, NEW YORK
OLYMPIC CHANNEL: HOME OF TEAM USA PRESENTS LIVE TELEVISION COVERAGE TOMORROW STARTING AT 11:30 A.M. ET
The bobsled & skeleton World Cup season continues with a second straight stop in Lake Placid, New York, where the U.S. women will be without three-time Olympic medalist Elana Meyers Taylor, who is missing the 2019-20 season as she expects her first child. The women’s team is expected to be led instead by Taylor’s longtime rival, Kaillie Humphries, a two-time Olympic gold medalist for Canada who switched to compete for the U.S. team during the 2019 offseason. Humphries won the women’s bobsled event at the opening race of the season last week in Lake Placid.
Olympic Channel: Home of Team USA presents live television coverage of the women’s and men’s skeleton tomorrow at 11:30 a.m. ET, and 3:50 p.m. ET, respectively. On Saturday, live streaming coverage on OlympicChannel.com and the Olympic Channel app begins at 10 a.m. ET. For a full schedule, click here.
SKI JUMPING WORLD CUP
LIVE COVERAGE CONTINUES ON NBC SPORTS GOLD TOMORROW AT 9:40 A.M. ET
The ski jumping World Cup season continues with competitions throughout Europe for both the men and the women. 2018 Olympian Kevin Bickner is expected to lead the American men this season following his success at the 2019 World Championships when he was the top finisher for the U.S. These mark the first competitions of the season for the women, who will be represented by Nina Lussi and Tara Geraghty-Moats.
This week’s live coverage continues tomorrow with men’s qualifying in Klingenthal, Germany starting at 9:40 a.m. ET on NBC Sports Gold. For a complete schedule, click here.
LUGE WORLD CUP – WHISTLER, BRITISH COLUMBIA
LIVE COVERAGE BEGINS TOMORROW AT 6 P.M. ET ON OLYMPIC CHANNEL: HOME OF TEAM USA
The luge World Cup season continues in North America with an event in Whistler, British Columbia. Two-time Olympian Summer Britcher, who finished second at the first World Cup of the season, is expected to headline the American women. She enters the weekend in second place in the World Cup standings. On the men’s side, 2018 Olympic silver medalist Chris Mazdzer is competing in both singles and doubles (with two-time Olympian Jayson Terdiman); Tucker West is the top American in the men’s singles standings so far this season.
This week’s live coverage on Olympic Channel: Home of Team USA begins tomorrow at 6 p.m. ET. NBCSN presents coverage on Sunday at 10 p.m. ET. For a full schedule, click here.
–NBC SPORTS–
