#NBCSN Cable Channel Shutting Down at the End of 2021

Sports fans will soon see the end of one of their biggest sports television outlets. NBCSN will shut down at the end of 2021. There is currently a plan to move some of the sports programming to sister channel USA Network. There is also a possibility that some of the programming will end up on Peacock, the new NBCUniversal streaming service.

Currently, the sports cable channel is home to NHL games, Premier League soccer matches, and NASCAR races. Frances Berwick, the chairman, of NBCU’s entertainment networks, said the following about the shutdown and plans to move the sports programming to USA Network, per Variety:

“USA has been a top five cable entertainment brand for over twenty years by way of constantly broadening our slate and finding ways to excite our viewers through immersive storytelling and iconic personalities. We remain committed to original entertainment programming, and believe that high-profile live sports will complement USA’s broad premium scripted, unscripted and WWE slate, enabling us to engage our passionate, intersecting audiences more deeply and with greater urgency.”

An exact date for the shut down of NBCSN was not revealed, but it is likely to happen on the last day of 2021. El Rey Network shut down its service at the end of 2020 in a similar manner. The decision to shut down NBCSN is attributed in part to the growing popularity of streaming services.

What do you think? Do you watch NBCSN? Are you sad to hear that the cable channel is going off the air?