FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, January 22nd, 2020
NATHAN CHEN STARS IN NBC SPORTS’ LIVE U.S. FIGURE SKATING CHAMPIONSHIPS THIS WEEK, PART OF 2020 TEAM USA CHAMPIONS SERIES, PRESENTED BY XFINITY
20+ Hours of Live Event Programming Across NBC Sports Platforms; TV Coverage Begins Tomorrow, Thursday, Jan. 23 at 5 p.m. ET on NBCSN
Defending National Champion Alysa Liu Headlines Field in Ladies’ Free Skate Friday at 8 p.m. ET/PT on NBC; Nathan Chen Highlights Live Men’s Short Program Saturday at 2:30 p.m. ET on NBC and Men’s Free Skate Sunday at 3 p.m. ET on NBC
Extensive Coverage of 2020 European Figure Skating Championships Starts Today at 11:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN with Exclusive Live Coverage on NBC Sports Gold
STAMFORD, Conn. – Jan. 22, 2020 – Two-time reigning world champion Nathan Chen headlines NBC Sports’ 20+ hours of live coverage of the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, part of the 2020 Team USA Champions Series, presented by Xfinity. The event will be contested at the Greensboro Coliseum Complex in Greensboro, North Carolina, marking its return to the city for the third time since 2011.
Live TV coverage begins tomorrow, Thursday, Jan. 23, with the pairs’ short program at 5 p.m. ET and the ladies’ short program at 9 p.m. ET on NBCSN. On Friday, Jan. 24, live coverage of the rhythm dance begins at 5 p.m. ET on NBCSN. Coverage on NBC begins Friday with the ladies’ free skate at 8 p.m. ET/PT, and continues live on Saturday with the men’s short program at 2:30 p.m. ET, before concluding on Sunday live at 3 p.m. ET with the men’s free skate. Also on Saturday at 8 p.m. ET, NBCSN will televise live coverage of the free dance.
Highlighting the men’s field is Chen, who seeks his fourth consecutive U.S. title. In December, Chen earned the highest score ever recorded to repeat as Grand Prix Final champion in Turin, Italy, becoming the first U.S. man to win three Grand Prix Finals. At the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics, he won a bronze medal in the team competition. 2014 Olympian Jason Brown and 2019 world bronze medalist Vincent Zhou are also expected to contend in the men’s field.
The ladies’ field is headlined by defending champion Alysa Liu, who last year became the youngest-ever U.S. champion at the age of 13, as well as 2018 U.S. champion and Olympic team bronze medalist Bradie Tennell.
Two-time reigning U.S. champions Madison Hubbell and Zach Donohue will look for a third straight title in the ice dance event in a showdown with 2015 U.S. champions Madison Chock and Evan Bates, who recently topped Hubbell and Donohue at the Grand Prix Final.
The U.S. Championships serve as the qualifying event for the Four Continents Championships and World Championships, which will be held in February and March, respectively.
For the NBC and NBCSN broadcasts, Terry Gannon handles play-by-play for all disciplines, joined by 1998 Olympic gold medalist Tara Lipinski and three-time U.S. champion Johnny Weir on men’s, ladies’, and pairs’ programs. 2006 Olympic ice dance silver medalist Tanith White serves as the analyst on ice dance and Andrea Joyce will be the on-site reporter. White will also call all disciplines except ice dance on NBC Sports Gold, and will be joined by 2014 Olympic ice dance gold medalist Charlie White.
Also this week, NBC Sports presents extensive coverage of the European Figure Skating Championships from Graz, Austria, beginning tonight at 11:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN.
The ladies’ field is highlighted by three Russian teenagers: 2019 Grand Prix Final champion Aliona Kostornaya, 2019 Skate America winner Anna Shcherbakova, and Aleksandra Trusova, who is expected to be the first woman to attempt five quadruple jumps in a free skate. The men’s event will see a new champion crowned for the first time since 2013 following the retirement of Spain’s Javier Fernandez, who won the last seven European titles. This year’s field is highlighted by 2019 Grand Prix Final bronze medalist Kevin Aymoz, who looks to become the first European men’s champion from France since 2011, and by Russians Aleksandr Samarin and Dmitry Aliyev, who have won each of the past two European silver medals (Samarin in 2019, Aliyev in 2018).
Live coverage of the European Figure Skating Championships began this morning on NBC Sports Gold’s “Figure Skating Pass.”
Chris Vosters calls the action on NBC and NBCSN, joined by 2016 world silver medalist and three-time U.S. champion Ashley Wagner.
NBC Sports Gold will stream coverage live and on-demand, to desktops, mobile, tablets, and connected TV devices. “Figure Skating Pass” can be purchased for $59.99 by visiting NBCSportsGold.com.
“Figure Skating Pass” features a variety of content, including live and on-demand coverage of all championship events and figure skating sectionals, which began with the U.S. International Classic September 19-21, 2019. In addition, “Figure Skating Pass” provides live and on-demand coverage of the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Series, U.S. Figure Skating Championships, ISU European Figure Skating Championships 2020, U.S. Synchronized Skating Championships, ISU Four Continents Championships, ISU World Figure Skating Championships, and the ISU World Synchronized Skating Championships.
Find NBC Sports Gold in the NBC Sports app. Available on Apple iOS & tvOS, Android, Android TV, Amazon Fire TV, Roku, Chromecast, Xfinity X1, Xfinity Flex and NBCSportsGold.com. NBC Sports Gold is powered by Playmaker Media, NBC Sports Digital’s technology service which provides end-to-end support for companies in need of best-in-class live streaming and VOD solutions.
Coverage on NBC will livestream 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.
Following is the 2020 U.S. Figure Skating Championships Broadcast Schedule on NBC and NBCSN (all times E.T. and subject to change):
| DATE | EVENT(S) | TIME (ET) | NETWORK |
| Thurs., Jan. 23 | Pairs’ Short (LIVE) | 5 p.m. | NBCSN |
| Ladies’ Short (LIVE) | 9 p.m. | NBCSN | |
| Fri., Jan. 24 | Rhythm Dance (LIVE) | 5 p.m. | NBCSN |
| Ladies’ Free Skate (LIVE ET) | 8 p.m. | NBC | |
| Sat., Jan. 25 | Men’s Short (LIVE) | 2:30 p.m. | NBC |
| Pairs’ Free Skate & Free Dance (LIVE) | 8 p.m. | NBCSN | |
| Sun., Jan. 26 | Men’s Free Skate (LIVE) | 3 p.m. | NBC |
| Sun., Feb. 2 | Skating Spectacular* | 4 p.m. | NBC |
*Taped
Following is the 2020 U.S. Figure Skating Championships Streaming Schedule on NBC Sports Gold’s “Figure Skating Pass” (all times E.T. and subject to change):
| DATE | EVENT | TIME (ET) |
| Thurs., Jan. 23 | Pairs’ Short (LIVE) | 5 p.m. |
| Ladies’ Short (LIVE) | 8 p.m. | |
| Fri., Jan. 24 | Rhythm Dance (LIVE) | 4:30 p.m. |
| Ladies’ Free Skate (LIVE) | 7:25 p.m. | |
| Sat., Jan. 25 | Men’s Short (LIVE) | 1:30 p.m. |
| Pairs’ Free Skate (LIVE) | 6 p.m. | |
| Free Dance (LIVE) | 9:30 p.m. | |
| Sun., Jan. 26 | Men’s Free Skate (LIVE) | 2:50 p.m. |
Following is the 2020 European Figure Skating Championships Broadcast Schedule on NBC and NBCSN (all times E.T. and subject to change):
| DATE | EVENT(S) | TIME (ET) | NETWORK |
| Wed., Jan. 22 | Men’s Short* | 11:30 p.m. | NBCSN |
| Thurs., Jan. 23 | Men’s Free Skate* | 7 p.m. | NBCSN |
| Fri., Jan. 24 | Ladies’ Short* | 11 p.m. | NBCSN |
| Sun., Jan. 26 | Ladies’ Free Skate** | 9 p.m. | NBCSN |
| Sat., Feb. 1 | European Figure Skating Championships** | 3 p.m. | NBC |
* Same-day delay
**Taped
Following is the 2020 European Figure Skating Streaming Schedule on NBC Sports Gold’s “Figure Skating Pass” (all times E.T. and subject to change):
| DATE | EVENT | TIME (ET) |
| Wed., Jan. 22 | Men’s Short (LIVE) | 5:30 a.m. |
| Pairs’ Short (LIVE) | 1:15 p.m. | |
| Thurs., Jan. 23 | Rhythm Dance (LIVE) | 6 a.m. |
| Men’s Free (LIVE) | 12:30 p.m. | |
| Fri., Jan. 24 | Ladies’ Short (LIVE) | 5:30 a.m. |
| Pairs’ Free (LIVE) | 1 p.m. | |
| Sat., Jan. 25 | Free Dance (LIVE) | 7:25 a.m. |
| Ladies’ Free (LIVE) | 12:30 p.m. |
– NBC SPORTS –
