Four years after closing down its national cable sports network, Comcast’s NBC Universal is apparently interested in trying it again.
On Wednesday, the Wall Street Journal said Comcast is considering a new national sports cable network that will simulcast events from its streaming platform Peacock, according to unnamed sources.
The company is still evaluating the feasibility of offering a national sports channel, and it may ultimately pull back on the plan. But, if it moves forward, the channel — which has yet to be named — could launch as soon as this fall.
The proposed channel would not be widely distributed in traditional cable bundles that include major sports networks like ESPN and Fox Sports 1, the Journal said. Instead, it would be offered in specialized tiers, like the kind launched by DirecTV’s streaming platform and Charter’s Spectrum TV over the past two years.
Comcast is already discussing the plan with various cable and satellite TV partners. The network would not be part of Comcast’s broader portfolio of cable channels that are being spun into a separate company called Versant.
As described, the national sports network is likely to resemble pop-up channels that Comcast and NBC Universal have offered for some events in the past. During the 2024 Summer Olympic Games, Comcast launched two spillover feeds that were made available to cable, satellite and streaming cable-like platforms for about three weeks.
The deliberation comes at a time when Comcast has increased its investment in live sports with NBC and Peacock in mind. Later this year, the company will begin offering games from the National Basketball Association (NBA) as part of a multi-year rights package with the league. Some games will stream exclusively on Peacock, and could be offered through the new sports cable network.
The NBA deal is the primary reason behind a recent price adjustment for Peacock, which now costs $11 per month with ads or $17 per month for a version that eliminates commercial interruptions during on-demand programming. All live sports streamed through Peacock include ad breaks.
Peacock also offers live sports from the National Football League (NFL), Premier League soccer, the Olympics, the Paralympics, golf, NASCAR and college football. Some of its events simulcast on NBC and USA Network, while a few are exclusive to the platform.
Comcast previously operated NBC Sports Network, which shut down in 2021 due to low ratings and competition from more established sports outlets. NBC Universal also distributed an American variant of the Olympic Channel until 2022.
