NBC to present 34th AC in 2013, Sky to broadcast live World Series action in Naples & Venice 2012
The NBC Sports Group will present live coverage of the 34th America’s Cup on both NBC and the NBC Sports Network beginning on September 7, 2013 from the Cup’s host city of San Francisco.
The first two days of racing will be broadcast over-the-air across the United States on September 7-8 on NBC, with the remaining races airing on NBC Sports Network. With the event taking place in San Francisco, the NBC Sports Group’s regional sports network Comcast SportsNet California will provide the additional local coverage that surrounds the America’s Cup Finals. NBC Sports Group also acquired the rights to the 2013 Louis Vuitton Cup, the America’s Cup Challenger Series, which determines the challenger for the America’s Cup Finals.
Jon Miller, President of Programming at the NBC Sports Group said, “This is a great example of how the unique assets of the NBC Sports Group – broadcast, cable, and regional — can work together to provide comprehensive coverage of a prestigious event. Viewers are in for a treat as the defense of the Cup by Team USA/ORACLE Racing takes place in the U.S. for the first time in 18 years.”
The news of the Cup coverage came shortly after an announcement that Sky Sports would be providing daily live coverage of the AC World Series events in Naples, Italy in April and in Venice in May in addition to daily race highlights.
With 13 hours of live coverage alone planned from the 11th to 15th of April, Sky Sports will be the UK’s home base for high-octane America’s Cup racing. Both events will be available in the UK live on Sky Sports and via live streaming on skysports.com.
Rik Dovey, Deputy Managing Director of Sky Sports said: “We are delighted to be able to show the America’s Cup on Sky Sports and give UK viewers a chance to see the live action of the events leading up to the 2013 America’s Cup. This is another example of the value we are creating for customers through our content. Our different ways of keeping up-to-date and support programming can take new followers and devoted fans to the core of this sport.”
As the AC World Series prepares to make its fourth stop on the circuit in Naples, event organizers will also be announcing partnerships with free-to-air national broadcasters in the American and Italian markets in the coming days.
Richard Worth, Chairman and CEO, America’s Cup Event Authority: “We’re delighted to see the growth of interest of the America’s Cup World Series by pivotal broadcasters like Sky Sports. We believe that the athletic and competitive nature of the sport is showing far wider audiences just how exciting the sport of sailing really is. The reliability and drama of the events are proving intensely attractive”
Naples will mark the return of one of Italy’s strongest America’s Cup challengers, Luna Rossa Challenge, to the competition. The team returns in force and style, fielding not one but two teams aboard the AC45s, the first of the next generation wing-sailed catamarans,
A fleet of eleven AC45s from eight different countries will do battle representing nine America’s Cup teams. The international fleet will compete off the waterfront of via Caracciolo, where the AC World Series Naples will feature some of the world’s best sailors competing in the fastest boats.
In addition to the Italians, teams representing New Zealand, China, France, Korea, Spain, Sweden, and the United States will be on the starting line in Naples. At the halfway stage in the inaugural World Series, Emirates Team New Zealand leads the Team USA/ORACLE Racing Spithill by just a single point in the overall standings.
Sky Sports live coverage will run daily at 13:00 UK time, and the broadcaster will continue to showcase “America’s Cup Uncovered,” the 30-minute feature program documenting the background stories of the America’s Cup.