FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, March 23rd, 2021

NATHAN CHEN STARS IN NBC SPORTS’ LIVE COVERAGE OF WORLD FIGURE SKATING CHAMPIONSHIPS, BEGINNING TOMORROW, WED., MARCH 24 ON PEACOCK & NBCSN

Chen Aims for Third Consecutive World Title Live This Saturday Morning, March 27 on Peacock & NBCSN

Two-Time U.S. Champion Bradie Tennell Headlines U.S. Team in Live Ladies’ Free Skate This Friday Afternoon on Peacock & NBCSN; NBC Presents Primetime Ladies’ Free Skate Show Saturday at 8 p.m. ET

Live Coverage of Every Skater in Every Discipline Available on Peacock

STAMFORD, Conn. – March 23, 2021 – Two-time world champion Nathan Chen headlines NBC Sports’ live coverage of the 2021 World Figure Skating Championships this week from Stockholm, Sweden, across NBC, NBCSN and Peacock.

NBC Sports’ presentation of the 2021 World Figure Skating Championships – in which skaters are competing for Olympic quota spots for their countries – begins tomorrow morning, Wednesday, March 24 with live coverage of the ladies’ short program on Peacock (5 a.m. ET) and NBCSN (9 a.m. ET) (coverage times for all disciplines in the chart below), followed by the pairs’ short program live on Peacock (1:30 p.m. ET), and an early Thursday morning show on NBCSN. On the afternoon of Thursday, March 25, Peacock (1:10 p.m. ET) and NBCSN (3 p.m. ET) will present live coverage of the pairs’ free skate. Peacock will also stream the men’s short program live early Thursday morning (6 a.m. ET) and NBCSN will provide late afternoon coverage (5 p.m. ET).

This Friday afternoon, March 26, the ladies’ free skate will be live on Peacock (1 p.m. ET) and NBCSN (2:30 p.m. ET). Friday’s early morning coverage of the rhythm dance will be presented live on Peacock (5:45 a.m. ET), with evening coverage on NBCSN (10:30 p.m. ET). Weekend coverage begins Saturday morning with live coverage of the men’s free skate on Peacock (6 a.m. ET) and NBCSN (8 a.m. ET), and live coverage of the free dance on Peacock (Noon ET), with afternoon coverage on NBCSN (3:30 p.m. ET). In addition, NBC will broadcast a Saturday primetime ladies’ free skate show at 8 p.m. ET. World Championships coverage will conclude on Sunday afternoon, April 11, with a full event recap on NBC at 3 p.m. ET.

Highlighting the men’s field are defending world champion and five-time U.S. champion Chen and two-time Olympic gold medalist Yuzuru Hanyu of Japan. Chen aims to become the first American man to win at least three consecutive world titles since Scott Hamilton (1981-1984).  Also competing in the men’s field are 2019 world bronze medalist Vincent Zhou and 2014 Olympian Jason Brown for the U.S., and 2018 Olympic silver medalist Shoma Uno for Japan.

Two-time and reigning U.S. champion Bradie Tennell leads the American ladies along with 2018 Olympian Karen Chen. Three-time Russian national champion Anna Shcherbakova and her teammate Aleksandra Trusova are favorites in the ladies’ event. Three women in the field – Shcherbakova, Trusova, and Rika Kihira of Japan – are expected to attempt quad jumps this week. In World Championships history, only one quad jump has ever been successfully performed in the ladies’ event (Kazakhstan’s Yelizabet Tursynbayeva in 2019).

In the pairs’ competition, the field is headlined by two-time world champions and 2018 Olympic silver medalists Sui Wenjing and Han Cong of China, who are expected to be gold medal favorites at the 2022 Beijing Olympics. 2021 U.S. champions Alexa Knierim and Brandon Frazier are poised to compete for the best finish by a U.S. pair team at the World Championships in the past decade.

2021 U.S. ice dance champions Madison Hubbell and Zach Donohue and 2020 U.S. champions Madison Chock and Evan Bates are expected to contend for spots on the ice dance podium, both aiming to become the first American team to win an ice dance world title since 2013. Both teams are two-time medalists at the World Championships.

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 analyst for the dance competition.

All competition at the World Championships, including every skater in every discipline, can be streamed live and on-demand on Peacock Premium. Viewers can sign up for Peacock at peacocktv.com.

In addition to U.S. Figure Skating, Peacock currently features live sports content from the Premier League, U.S. Speed Skating, Rugby, Supercross, Skiing, and Snowboarding. Highlights of Peacock’s previous live sports offerings include a Sunday NFL Wild Card playoff game, U.S. Open golf, U.S. Women’s Open golf, and upcoming events include Olympics and Paralympics coverage. Peacock Originals available on demand include Lost Speedways, hosted by Dale Earnhardt, Jr., and In Deep with Ryan Lochte. Peacock offers daily sports programming on the NBC Sports channel which streams Peacock Original Brother from Another, as well as The Dan Patrick Show, PFT Live, and The Rich Eisen Show.

Coverage on NBC and NBCSN is livestreamed on NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app.

NBC Sports and U.S. Figure Skating are in the third year of a long-term media rights agreement that runs through the conclusion of the 2025-26 season.

ISU World Figure Skating Championships 2021 – Coverage Schedule
All times Eastern. Check local listings. Subject to change.

 

Date Competition Peacock NBCSN
Wed., March 24 Ladies’ Short Program 5-11 a.m. (LIVE) 9-11 a.m. (LIVE)
Wed., March 24 Pairs’ Short Program 1:30-6 p.m. (LIVE) 1:30–3 a.m. (Thurs.)
Thurs., March 25 Men’s Short Program 6-11:30 a.m. (LIVE) 5–7 p.m.
Thurs., March 25 Pairs’ Free Skate 1:10-5 p.m. (LIVE) 3–5 p.m. (LIVE)
Fri., March 26 Rhythm Dance 5:45-11 a.m. (LIVE) 10:30 p.m.–12:30 a.m.
Fri., March 26 Ladies’ Free Skate 1-5 p.m. (LIVE) 2:30–5 p.m. (LIVE)
Sat., March 27 Men’s Free Skate 6-10 a.m. (LIVE) 8–10 a.m. (LIVE)
Sat., March 27 Free Dance Noon-3:30 p.m. (LIVE) 3:30–5:30 p.m.
       
Date Competition NBC  
Sat., March 27 Ladies’ Free Skate 8 p.m. ET/7 p.m. CT/7 p.m. MT/6:30 p.m. PT  
Sun., April 11 Event Recap 3 p.m. ET  

 

– NBC SPORTS –