| Network | USA Network (2007–2025) |
|---|---|
| Launched | April 8, 2007 (2007-04-08) |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Owner | |
| Key people | Richard Cordella(Chairman,NBC Sports Group) Mark Lazarus (CEO,Versant) |
| Headquarters | 30 Rockefeller Plaza, New York, New York |
| Major broadcasting contracts | |
| Sister network | NBC Sports |
| Format | Sports |
| Official website | https://www.nbcsports.com |
Following the dissolution ofUSA Sports intoNBC Sports after the2007 Masters,USA Network began deemphasizing sports. During this time NBC Sports properties generally only aired on USA in special cases, such as during theOlympics,Stanley Cup Playoffs (until 2021) or the final week of theEnglish Premier League season.
On January 22, 2021, an internal memo sent by NBC Sports presidentPete Bevacqua announced thatNBCSN would cease operations by the end of the year, and thatUSA Network would begin "carrying and/or simulcasting certain NBC Sports programming," including theStanley Cup Playoffs (until 2021), and NASCAR races, before NBCSN's shutdown.[1][2] The move was cited by industry analysts as a response to the impact of theCOVID-19 pandemic on thesports andtelevision industries, the acceleration ofcord-cutting, as well as formidable competition from rival sports networks such asESPN andFox Sports 1, noting the company saw an overall revenue drop by 19% to $6.72 billion.[2][3]
In 2003,General Electric (GE) agreed to mergeNBC and its sibling companies with Vivendi Universal's North American-based filmed entertainment assets, including Universal Pictures and Universal Television Group in a multibillion-dollar purchase, renaming the merged companyNBC Universal. GE retained an 80% ownership stake in NBC Universal, while Vivendi retained a 20% stake. NBC Universal officially took over as owner of USA and its sibling cable channels (except for Newsworld International) in 2004.USA Sports continued to be used as the branding for coverage of thePGA Tour,The Masters, theRyder Cup, and theUS Open tennis tournament.
In early 2006, it was announced that USA was outbid by Golf Channel for its early-round PGA Tour rights, with USA's final season being 2006. NBC Universal traded away USA's Friday Ryder Cup coverage through 2012 to ESPN for the rights to signAl Michaels for its newSunday Night Football. However, USA did renew its Masters contract for an additional year. USA would televise the 2007 Masters before being outbid by ESPN for future coverage. Also in 2006, USA carried some coverage of top level hockey by cooperating withNBC's coverage ofice hockey at the Winter Olympics.
After USA Sports was dissolved intoNBC Sports after the2007 Masters, USA Network began deemphasizing sports. During this time NBC Sports properties generally only aired on USA in special cases, such as during theOlympics,Stanley Cup Playoffs or the final week of theEnglish Premier League season.
USA Network offered daily coverage of the2008 Summer Olympics through NBC Sports. This would be the USA Network's last Summer Olympics until2020 because in 2011, Comcast acquired majority control of NBC's parent company NBC Universal from General Electric. This included to rebranding ofVersus asNBC Sports Network, which would replace USA Network's summer Olympic coverage.[4]
The Ryder Cup contract, which stipulated cable coverage air on USA, was still controlled by NBC even after it granted ESPN the rights to Friday cable coverage (normally the only day of the event covered on cable). However, in 2010, rain on Friday pushed the singles matches to Monday, necessitating that they air on cable. With NBC having granted only Friday rights to ESPN, the singles matches aired on USA. Four months later, NBC merged withGolf Channel, making Golf Channel NBC's primary cable outlet for golf.
USA Network returned to NBC Sports'Winter Olympics coverage in 2010, which has continued every year since. In2010, USA aired 41 hours of coverage;[5] in2014, it aired 43 hours of coverage;[6] in2018, it aired 40.5 hours of coverage.[7]
As part of a 2011 contract renewal,Comcast's properties earned exclusive national rights for allStanley Cup playoffs through 2021. Because NBC andNBC Sports Network cannot carry all of the games on those two outlets alone in the first two rounds, other Comcast properties would need to be used; USA was initially not used, due to the risk of preempting its popular prime time lineup, and Comcast instead usedCNBC andNHL Network as the overflow channels for the first four years of the contract. In 2015, Comcast announced that USA would carry some games in the first two rounds of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, mainly on Tuesday and Wednesday nights, returning the NHL to USA for the first time in 30 years since 1985.[8]
USA also aired a limited amount ofPremier League matches during this time. In 2014, due toNBCSN's coverage of the2014 Winter Olympics, anEnglish Premier League match betweenArsenal andSunderland aired on USA Network. In the 2015–16 season, USA Network aired 40 matches from theEnglish Premier League, most during the 10AM ET window. These matches moved to CNBC for the 2016–17 season.[9] In 2017, during the final day of the Premier League season on May 21, USA aired a match betweenWatford andManchester City. In 2018, USA would air the same match for the final day of the season on May 10. In 2019, during the final day of the Premier League season on May 12, USA aired a match between Manchester United andCardiff City. In 2020, during the final day of the Premier League season on July 26, USA aired a match betweenChelsea andWolverhampton. In 2021, during the final day of the Premier League season on May 23, USA aired a match betweenAston Villa and Chelsea.[10] Later in 2021, USA Network aired Cristiano Ronaldo's return toManchester United on September 11 when Manchester United took onNewcastle.
On January 26, 2016, NASCAR announced that theCheez-It 355 at the Glen fromWatkins Glen International would air on USA Network due toNBC and NBCSN's commitments to theSummer Olympics.[11]
USA Network returned to NBC Sports'Summer Olympics coverage in2021. That year, USA Network had 388.5 hours of coverage. The main sports featured were swimming, track and field, diving, beach volleyball, volleyball, cycling, triathlon, team sports basketball, soccer and water polo.[12]
USA Network aired a limited amount ofNBC Sports'sNotre Dame college football coverage in 2020. USA carried the September 19 college football game between theNotre Dame Fighting Irish andUniversity of South Florida Bulls.[13] It was the first Notre Dame football game broadcast on USA; sister network NBC had owned the rights to every Fighting Irish home game since 1991. It was also the first American football game broadcast on the network sinceWorld Bowl '92.Notre Dame'sdouble-overtime win againstClemson on November 7, 2020, was moved temporarily to USA Network, due to coverage ofJoe Biden's acceptance speech after being declared consensus winner of the2020 presidential election.[14]
Following the closure of NBCSN in January 2022,Atlantic 10 men and women college basketball games were moved to USA, along with weekend lead-in coverage of theU.S. Open,U.S. Women's Open,British Open andAIG Women's Open,[15] the cable portion of NBC Sports'NASCAR contract,[16] the cable portion of NBC Sports'NTT IndyCar Series contract, the cable portion of NBC Sports'IMSA contract,[17] selectAMA Supercross Championship races (split withCNBC),[18] and regular Premier League matches, as well as Premier League Mornings.[19]
For the2022 Winter Olympics, USA Network gained the de facto cable rights to the games, also inherited from the defunct NBCSN. The network featured 400 hours of Olympic programming, broadcasting all Olympic sports.[20]
In April 2022, USA Network became NBC Sports' cable home forUnited States Football League (USFL) coverage,[21] which it announced it would not continue after the 2023 season.[22] In 2023, NBC Sports produced overnight coverage of Day 1, while Day 2 of theRyder Cup returned to USA for the first time since 2010.[23]
On July 25, 2024, NBC Sports announced an 11-year deal with theNational Basketball Association (NBA) andWomen's National Basketball Association (WNBA) beginning in 2025 and 2026 respectively. USA Network would air select games from the WNBA and serve as an overflow outlet for the NBA, as regularly scheduled NBA games have been assigned only to NBC and Peacock. USA Network also acquired the rights to the college basketball NBA HBCU Classic.[24][25] NBC Sports also announced an 11-year deal withUSA Basketball. The agreement included the rights to the USA Basketball Showcase and theNike Hoop Summit, both of which were slated to air on USA Network.[26]
On November 20, 2024, Comcast announced that it would spin off most of its cable networks and select digital properties into a new publicly traded company,Versant, a move that will see USA Network split from NBC Sports.[27][28] When asked about the impact of the spin-off, NBC Sports president Rick Cordell stated that the division would "fulfill every obligation" it has with networks that are part of the spin-off (such as USA Network and Golf Channel), implicating they will still carry NBC Sports programming covered under current contracts (such as the Olympic Games,PGA Tour andWNBA).[29][30][31][32]
On August 12, 2025, Versant announced a broadcasting agreement withUnited States Golf Association, a first for the company, through 2032. Through the agreement, USA Network will hold the rights to 35 hours of coverage from theU.S. Open andU.S. Women's Open.[33]
Later in August, Versant announced that sports programming on USA Network and Golf Channel would merge under the returning USA Sports brand when the spinoff completes.[34]
In September, Versant announced a new agreement with theWNBA for 50 regular season games, along with select playoff games. The new deal essentially replaces USA's portion of the previously announced deal between the WNBA and NBC.[35] Also in September, Versant announced an agreement withLeague One Volleyball to broadcast a "match of the week" on USA Network on Wednesday nights beginning in January 2026. USA Network will also air prime-time coverage of the league’s playoffs, including the 2026 LOVB Championship Match.[36]
Despite the planned separation, USA Network continued to air NBC Sports produced programming in 2025, including United States qualifiers for the2026 Winter Olympics.[37]