(STEVENS POINT, Wis.) – Twelve hours of live playoff action from the 2013 USA Curling National Championships presented by Brooms Up Curling Supplies will be broadcast on Universal Sports and NBC Sports Network.
On Friday, Feb. 15, Universal Sports will air both the women’s semifinal and the men’s semifinal games live. The women’s game is set for 3 p.m. ET with the men’s game following at 9 p.m. ET.
On Saturday, Feb. 16, the championship finals take center stage. NBC Sports Network will air the women’s gold-medal match at 10 a.m. ET followed by the men’s gold-medal final at 4 p.m. ET.
The last time curling was aired live nationally on TV in the United States was during the 2010 Olympic Winter Games on NBC’s networks.
This coverage is made possible through USA Curling’s partnership with the U.S. Olympic Committee (USOC), which has arranged for a winter sports week of entertainment on the NBC networks to celebrate the one-year-to-go mark to the next Olympics. The 2014 Olympic Winter Games in Sochi, Russia, open Feb. 7. In addition to the 12 hours of curling, the NBC networks will carry four hours of luge from Feb. 8-10 and four hours of biathlon from Feb. 9-12.
“This is an awesome development for the competitors and fans of curling,” said Rick Patzke, chief operating officer of USA Curling. “The NBC networks have been remarkable supporters of curling for more than a decade now, and the USOC’s support beyond just the pursuit of medals means a lot to the overall growth of the sport.”
The 2013 National Championships will take place Feb. 9-16 at the Cornerstone Ice Center in Green Bay, Wis. In addition to the above TV coverage, the 12th End Sports Network will webstream every draw from the 2013 and 2014 Men’s and Women’s National Championships in partnership with USA Curling. The 12th End Sports Network (www.tesn.us) is owned and produced by Rochester, N.Y., curlers Joe Calabrese and Brian Anderson. Fans in the stands in Green Bay will be able to listen to the webstream by purchasing a SmartBug radio at the arena.
USA Curling is sponsored by AtomAmpd, Nike, Brooms Up Curling Supplies, Sitrin, and The RAM Restaurant & Brewery, and is partnered with Ludus Tours, RJM Licensing, Inc., and CurlingZone.
Visit the USA Curling website at www.usacurl.org and connect with USA Curling on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Foursquare.
