Press

New Weekly Ski Resort Series Universal Access Premieres Tuesday, February 5, on Universal Sports Network
Debut Episode to Lead into 2013 Alpine Skiing World Championships

Los Angeles, CA (February 4, 2013) – Universal Sports Network today announced its new original series, Universal Access, will premiere tomorrow, February 5, at 10:30 AM ET. Presented by GoPro, Universal Access is a weekly half-hour sports travel series that provides a fresh take on some of America’s hottest ski resorts, including Vail and Beaver Creek in Colorado and Heavenly and Northstar near Lake Tahoe. The first of the series’ eight episodes will air prior to the 2013 Alpine Ski World Championships’ opening event, the women’s Giant Slalom, beginning at 11:00 AM ET from Schladming, Austria.

“Universal Sports is focused on creating original programming such as Universal Access that taps into the passions and interests of our core audience,” said Dean Walker, SVP of Production, Universal Sports. “Universal Access takes skiers and winter sports enthusiasts behind the scenes of some of the most exciting ski resorts in this country, and tells unique stories about each mountain.”

Universal Access is an insider’s guide giving viewers exclusive access to some of North America’s best ski resorts. With the help of a local expert, host Nick Gismondi provides an up-close look at each mountain and its surrounding community, including must-ski runs, snowboard parks, local activities and favorite “après ski” hotspots. In the premiere episode, Copper Mountain resort expert Austyn Williams introduces Gismondi to the newest member of the mountain’s Avalanche Rescue Dog team and then tests his carving skills on the halfpipe at the Woodward at Copper Terrain Park. The following week at Vail, local TV personality Tricia Swenson joins Nick to celebrate the resort’s 50th anniversary season with a run down the Blue Sky Basin in two feet of powder, before showing viewers around some of the resort’s finest guest accommodations. Viewers can also look forward to an inside look at Beaver Creek, where Swenson and Gismondi take their turn on the Birds of Prey downhill World Cup course before going ice skating in the village’s outdoor rink.

Universal Sports Network Broadcast Schedule: Universal Access
All Times ET – subject to change

Feb. 5 10:30 AM Episode 1: Universal Access – Copper Mountain
Feb. 11 11:30 AM Episode 2: Universal Access – Vail
Feb. 19 7:30 PM Episode 3: Universal Access – Beaver Creek
Feb. 26 7:30 PM Episode 4: Universal Access – Keystone
Mar. 5 7:30 PM Episode 5: Universal Access – Breckenridge
Mar. 12 7:30 PM Episode 6: Universal Access – Arapahoe Basin
Mar. 19 7:30 PM Episode 7: Universal Access – Heavenly
Mar.26 7:30 PM Episode 8: Universal Access – Northstar

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Universal Sports Network Unveils “Winter Bowl” Schedule January 25-27
Men’s World Cup Skiing at the Famed Hahnenkamm in Kitzbühel Headlines 30 Hours of World-Class Winter Sports Action

Los Angeles (January 23, 2013) – Universal Sports Network announced today its on-air schedule for this weekend’s “Winter Bowl” programming lineup. From Friday, January 25 through Sunday, January 27, Universal Sports will air 30 hours of premier winter sports action from around the globe, including the FIS Alpine Skiing World Cup in Kitzbühel, Austria and Maribor, Slovenia; the Bobsled World Championships in St. Moritz, Switzerland; the World Sprint Speed Skating Championships in Salt Lake City; the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Omaha; and the FIS Snowboard World Championships in Stoneham, Canada.

Winter Bowl coverage begins with World Cup skiing from the slopes of Kitzbühel with the men’s Super G on Friday at 9:00 AM ET. Kitzbühel action continues on Saturday at 10:30 AM ET with the men’s Downhill, where skiers often reach speeds upwards of 110 km/h on the famous Streif slope (considered to be one of the circuit’s most difficult), and the men’s Slalom on Sunday at 12:30 PM ET. Calling the action will be veteran play-by-play announcer Steve Porino and analyst Doug Lewis, a two-time Olympic team member and five-year veteran of the Skiing World Cup circuit.

UniversalSports.com will also stream LIVE both the men’s and women’s World Cup skiing competitions, as well as other Winter Bowl events, beginning Friday at 5:30 AM ET. In addition, UniversalSports.com will have daily video highlights and news coverage of all the Winter Bowl action, including figure skating, bobsled, speed skating and snowboarding, as America’s 2014 Olympic medal hopefuls look to build momentum one year out from the Sochi Games.

Universal Sports Network 2013 Winter Bowl Events

Men’s Alpine Ski World Cup: Local favorite Marcel Hirscher, Norwegian Aksel Lund Svindal and American Ted Ligety lead the World Cup standings as they face the Streif course in Kitzbühel. Svindel appears to have the inside track as he currently leads in the Downhill standings and posted the fasted training run on Tuesday.

Women’s Alpine Ski World Cup: Lindsey Vonn, Kathrin Zettel and Tina Maze head to Maribor, Slovenia to descend the historic Pohorje Piste in a weekend filled with technical races. Zettel is looking for her third straight Slalom victory at Maribor as Vonn continues her quest to become the Women’s All-Time World Cup wins leader.

Bobsled World Championships: 2012 World Championship bronze medalists Elana Meyers and Katie Eberling lead a strong U.S. team in the women’s bobsled competition in St. Moritz, Switzerland this Saturday. In the men’s two-man bobsled, 2012 World Champions Steven Holcomb and Steve Langton will defend their title on Sunday.

World Sprint Speed Skating Championships: U.S. Speed Skating and the Utah Olympic Oval host the world’s best this weekend in Salt Lake City, Utah for the 2013 ISU World Spring Speed Skating Championships. Skaters will compete in one 500m and one 1000m race each day. Calling the Network’s LIVE coverage are 1994 Olympic Gold Medalist Dan Jansen and Universal Sports commentator Nick Gismondi.

European Figure Skating Championships: Ten-time Russian Men’s National Champion and Olympic gold medalist Evgeni Plushenko will compete at this week’s European Figure Skating Championships in Zagreb, Croatia. Italy’s Carolina Kostner will compete for her fifth Ladies’ title at the event after dominating at the Italian Championships last month.

U.S. Figure Skating Championships: Ashley Wagner, Jeremy Abbott and Meryl Davis/Charlie White look to defend their 2012 titles this week in Omaha, Nebraska at 2013 U.S Figure Skating Championships. Wins here will have a determining factor on who represents Team USA at the 2013 Four Continents Championships and 2013 World Championships.

Snowboard World Championships: Defending 2011 Snowboard Cross silver and bronze medalists Seth Wescott and Nate Holland headline the U.S. team in Stoneham, Quebec in this Sunday’s Snowboard Cross. The event concludes the 2013 FIS Snowboard World Championships.

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Universal Sports Network and USA Swimming Extend Partnership Through 2016
Deal Includes Exclusive Coverage of The Arena Grand Prix Series, Beginning With The Austin Grand Prix
Olympic Gold Medalists Missy Franklin and Ryan Lochte To Headline Austin Event January 18-20

Los Angeles, CA and Colorado Springs, CO (January 14, 2013) – Universal Sports Network and USA Swimming announced today the extension of their agreement to air USA Swimming’s marquee events in the U.S. through 2016. The deal gives Universal Sports exclusive multiplatform rights to the annual Arena Grand Prix Series as well as rights to other USA Swimming Grand Prix competitions.

The announcement comes in advance of The Austin Grand Prix, the second stop of the 2012-2013 Arena Grand Prix Series, which will air exclusively LIVE on Universal Sports on January 19 and 20 at 7 PM ET.

The three-day meet in Austin, Texas is slated to feature a marquee line-up of swimming stars, including Olympic gold medalists Missy Franklin, Ryan Lochte, Nathan Adrian, Ricky Berens and Tyler Clary. Calling the network’s coverage in Austin will be veteran play-by-play announcer Paul Sunderland and analyst Rowdy Gaines, a three-time Olympic gold medalist.

Universal Sports will cover all remaining events of the 2012-2013 Arena Grand Prix Series this year following Austin, including meets in Orlando, Florida; Mesa, Arizona; Charlotte, North Carolina; and Santa Clara, California. Then, beginning on July 20, Universal Sports will team with NBC Sports to present exclusive coverage of the 2013 FINA Aquatics World Championships in Barcelona, Spain, featuring many of the top stars of the USA Swimming team.

“We are pleased to continue our partnership with USA Swimming, and build upon the success of the past four years of our relationship,” said David Sternberg, CEO of Universal Sports. “Swimming is an integral part of our programming lineup, and this agreement reinforces our commitment to these outstanding athletes and providing the growing U.S. Swimming community with the events they crave.”

USA Swimming recently announced new details for the 2012-2013 Arena Grand Prix Series, including $150,000 in prize money. The federation’s new eight-year partnership with Arena offers swimmers the opportunity to take home prize money for top finishes in all individual Olympic-distance events. (Swimmers with remaining NCAA eligibility will not be able to accept event prize money.)

“Our extended partnership with Universal Sports allows swim fans the opportunity to watch world-class swimming throughout the year, not just once every four years,” said Mike Unger, USA Swimming Assistant Executive Director. “From our enhanced broadcast scheduled to the addition of $150 thousand in prize money, we’re excited to continue to grow the Arena Grand Prix Series.”

For up-to-date schedules, video highlights and photos of Universal Sports’ swimming coverage, logon to UniversalSports.com/swimming.

Universal Sports Network Broadcast Schedule: USA Swimming’s 2012-2013 Arena Grand Prix Series
ALL TIMES ET – subject to change

Date Time (ET) Location Event

January 19 7-8:30 PM LIVE Austin, TX 2013 Austin Grand Prix
January 20 7-8:30 PM LIVE Austin, TX 2013 Austin Grand Prix

February 15 6-7:30 PM LIVE Orlando, FL 2013 Orlando Grand Prix
February 16 6-7:30 PM LIVE Orlando, FL 2013 Orlando Grand Prix

April 11 8-9:30 PM LIVE Mesa, AZ 2013 Mesa Grand Prix
April 12 8-9:30 PM LIVE Mesa, AZ 2013 Mesa Grand Prix

May 11 6-7:30 PM LIVE Charlotte, NC 2013 Charlotte UltraSwim Grand Prix
May 12 6-7:30 PM LIVE Charlotte, NC 2013 Charlotte UltraSwim Grand Prix

May 31 8-9:30 PM LIVE Santa Clara, CA 2013 Santa Clara Grand Prix
June 1 8-9:30 PM LIVE Santa Clara, CA 2013 Santa Clara Grand Prix

About Universal Sports
Universal Sports Network recently transitioned to a multi-platform, high definition cable, satellite and IPTV service. Currently, DIRECTV, DISH and numerous cable providers offer Universal Sports Network. Viewers whose cable, satellite or IPTV providers are not currently offering the network should call 1-800-55-GET-US or visit http://www.IWantUniversalSports.com and demand access to the network’s coverage of the world’s biggest championships.

Universal Sports, 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 HD 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 USA Swimming
As the National Governing Body for the sport of swimming in the United States, USA Swimming is a 300,000-member service organization that promotes the culture of swimming by creating opportunities for swimmers and coaches of all backgrounds to participate and advance in the sport through clubs, events and education. Our membership is comprised of swimmers from the age group level to the Olympic Team, as well as coaches and volunteers. USA Swimming is responsible for selecting and training teams for international competition including the Olympic Games, and strives to serve the sport through its core objectives: Build the base, Promote the sport, Achieve competitive success. For more information, visit http://www.usaswimming.org.