Record TV coverage planned for 2015 World Championships

Bode Miller competes in the 2013 World Cup at Beaver Creek. GEPA/Christian Walgram

VAIL/BEAVER CREEK, Colo. – American ski racing fans will have unprecedented coverage of the FIS 2015 Alpine World Ski Championships in Vail/Beaver Creek as the result of a media partnership announced by the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association, NBC Sports Group and Universal Sports Network. NBC, NBCSN and Universal Sports Network will combine for a record 25+ hours of coverage, including live coverage of every event for the first time in history. The World Championships are expected to showcase athletes from over 70 nations, with an estimated 750 million worldwide television viewers and an onsite media and broadcast entourage of 1,500.

“The partnership with NBC, NBCSN and Universal Sports represents a tremendously innovative breakthrough for skiing and snowboarding in the U.S. One of our goals for the Championships is to elevate ski racing, and skiing in general, to a new level around the nation,” said Vail Valley Foundation President Ceil Folz. “The extensive domestic broadcast coverage presents us with a wonderful vehicle to accomplish that. Congratulations to the USSA for its vision and dedication to making this a reality.”

NBC Sports Live Extra, NBC Sports Group’s live streaming product, Universal Sports Network and the USSA Network on YouTube will combine to provide comprehensive live streaming coverage. The Feb. 2-15, 2015, World Championships will feature the best alpine ski racers in the world, including U.S. Ski Team Olympic stars like Ted Ligety, Bode Miller, Andrew Weibrecht, Mikaela Shiffrin, Lindsey Vonn and Julia Mancuso.

“This World Championships in Vail/Beaver Creek provides us a very unique opportunity to carry the momentum of our record performances in Sochi. We’ve jumped at that opportunity by investing in both the rights and live broadcasts of every event on NBC, NBCSN or Universal Sports. Through this investment, and the great partnership with NBC Universal and its Emmy Award-winning production team, we are proud to deliver the very best coverage possible to our fans and give this event and our athletes the opportunity to shine,” noted USSA Chief Marketing Officer Michael Jaquet.

NBC Sports Group will utilize its Olympic production crew and commentators across NBC, NBCSN and NBC Sports Live Extra. A record six hours of coverage is planned for NBC with 8.5 hours on NBCSN and 13 for Universal Sports. NBC Sports Live Extra will live stream all coverage airing on NBC and NBCSN via “TV Everywhere,” the media industry’s effort to make quality content available to authenticated customers both in and out of the home and on multiple platforms.

“We’re thrilled to be part of the unprecedented coverage that will bring more hours of the 2015 Alpine World Ski Championships to skiing fans on more platforms than ever before,” said Jon Miller, president of programming for NBC Sports and NBCSN.

Universal Sports Network will provide expanded coverage on both its cable network and website including daily pre-race shows live from Beaver Creek, additional live coverage of events and full coverage of the nation’s team event. Universal Sports, known to ski racing fans for its longtime coverage of the Audi FIS Alpine World Cup each season, will air at least 13 hours from Vail/Beaver Creek, including the live daily pre-game show featuring exclusive behind-the-scenes action and unique insight that will provide unparalleled access to the event.

During last winter’s Nature Valley Raptor Women’s World Cup in Vail/Beaver Creek, the USSA, in an unprecedented move, announced that it had acquired the U.S. television rights to the 2015 and 2017 FIS World Alpine and Nordic Championships from Eurovision/EBU. This unique agreement paved the way for negotiations with NBC, NBCSN and Universal Sports, resulting in the strongest broadcast package ever for skiing and snowboarding in the United States.

“The 2015 World Championships in Vail/Beaver Creek will be the most significant alpine skiing event in America since the 2002 Olympics,” remarked USSA President and CEO Tiger Shaw. “As the host nation, we’ve taken very innovative steps to invest in the best broadcast coverage ever for our sport in America together with our partners NBC, NBCSN and Universal Sports.”

Release courtesy of USSA