NBC Sports Group has acquired the exclusive U.S. television and digital media rights for the next America’s Cup Challenger Playoffs and America’s Cup Finals, set to take place in Bermuda in 2017.
NBC broadcast the 2013 America’s Cup, the event’s most recent iteration, but the network did not pay a rights fee in that deal. For 2017, Jon Miller, president of programming for NBC and NBC Sports Network, declined to comment specifically on the financial terms of the deal, but he said that it was a “different deal than we did last time.”
“This is more of a joint venture,” Miller said.
He added that the America’s Cup Event Authority, which is organizing the event, “has a good bank of sponsors that they’re bringing as well,” something Miller said made acquiring the rights “very desirable.”
The deal calls for the network to broadcast more than 35 hours of coverage on NBC, NBCSN and the NBC Sports Live Extra service. NBCSN also will present coverage of all America’s Cup World Series events in 2015 and 2016. NBCSN will have a one-hour highlight show from each of the estimated four 2015 World Series events as well.
“We had a great run with the event in 2013 and we felt as the event went on, it only got stronger and stronger,” Miller said. “We also feel the event works really well for us schedule-wise, as it comes right on the heels of championship season on the networks.”
The event’s summer calendar placement would put coverage of the finals after NBC’s coverage of the NHL Stanley Cup Final. It also would follow the French Open, horse racing’s Triple Crown events and the final weeks of the EPL season, all of which currently air on NBC networks as well.
Because the winner of the prior America’s Cup dictates not only where the race is held but also how the media rights are sold, Miller said NBC can only do one Cup deal at a time. However, he said, “as long as the U.S. continues to win and pick venues that are television friendly, we’d be happy to continue to broadcast it.”
The 2013 event, won by the U.S. team, was held off the coast of San Francisco.
