The UCI and Universal Sports Network extend broadcast partnership in the United States to 2018
New Agreement Kicks Off This Weekend with Coverage of 2015 UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships
Network Serves as Multiplatform Home for UCI Cycling Events in the U.S. Including the 2015 Road World Championships in Richmond, Virginia
Universal Sports Network and the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) announced today a multiyear extension of their existing agreement to air the UCI’s major cycling events in the United States through 2018. The deal gives Universal Sports multiplatform rights, including exclusive TV and digital rights, to the UCI Road World Championships and UCI World Championship and World Cup events in Track Cycling, BMX, Mountain Bike and Cyclo-cross.
The partnership allows Universal Sports to provide exclusive national coverage of major UCI events throughout the world including this year’s UCI Road World Championships in Richmond, Virginia (Sept. 19-27, 2015).
The announcement comes immediately prior the 2015 UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships in Tabor, Czech Republic, which will air live in the U.S. this weekend, Jan. 31-Feb. 1, exclusively on Universal Sports Network and UniversalSports.com.
Brian Cookson, UCI President said "The UCI is delighted that Universal Sports Network has extended its broadcast agreement for our key events all the way through to 2018. The U.S. is a vital market for cycling and with Richmond, Virginia hosting the UCI Road World Championships later this year, 2015 is going to be a great year for cycling in the country. We are seeing excellent demand from broadcasters for our events and around a dozen of new contracts with different broadcasters have been concluded recently."
Universal Sports SVP of Content & Communications Robert James added "We are pleased to continue our partnership with the UCI and build upon the success of our existing relationship. Cycling is an integral part of our programming line-up, and this agreement allows us to continue servicing the growing community of cycling enthusiasts across the United States."
With more than 185 hours of exclusive coverage this year, Universal Sports Network is firmly established as the leader in cycling coverage on American television. In addition to the UCI Road World Championships, marquee events in Universal Sports’ 2015 Cycling Series include the Vuelta a España, Volta a Cataluyna, Tour of Belgium, Tour of Britain, Three Days of De Panne, Four Days of Dunkerque, Tour de Suisse, Tour de Wallonie, Eneco Tour and the women’s one-day race La Course by Le Tour de France. For more information, please visit http://universalsports.com/cycling/.
Universal Sports Network is available on Time Warner Cable, Bright House Networks, Cox Communications, Verizon FiOS, CenturyLink Prism, Google Fiber, satellite providers DIRECTV and DISH and numerous regional cable and IPTV operators in markets across the country.
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About Universal Sports
Universal Sports Network, a partnership between NBC Sports and InterMedia Partners, LP, is the premier multi-platform media destination for Olympic-related sports programming in the United States. Offering more than 1,200 hours of original programming each year, Universal Sports has exclusive rights to world and national championship events in a wide array of sports, including swimming, track and field, gymnastics, cycling, skiing, figure skating and rugby. Whether on television, online, or on the go with mobile and tablet applications, Universal Sports offers a four-screen experience to fans of global sports every day of the year. For more information, please visit UniversalSports.com.
About the UCI
The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) is the world governing body for cycling recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). The UCI’s mission is to develop and promote cycling, in close collaboration with National Federations, as a competitive sport, as a healthy recreational activity or as a means of transport.
The UCI governs the eight disciplines of the sport of cycling: road, track, mountain bike, cyclo-cross, BMX, trials, indoor and para. Four of them are represented at the Olympic Games (road, track, mountain bike and BMX), two at the Paralympic Games (road, track) and three at the Youth Olympic Games (road, mountain bike and BMX). Additionally the UCI promotes a number of its own events, including the UCI Road World Championships, an iconic annual event, and a wide range of other UCI World Championships and World Cups across the various disciplines.
For more information
Louis Chenaille
UCI Press Officer
+41 79 198 7047
louis.chenaille@uci.ch
John Zerafa
VERO Communications
+44 7813 814 816
jzerafa@verocom.co.uk
Catherine Philbin
Universal Sports Network
cphilbin@universalsports.com
+1 818 593 3967