New NBC Sports Network Reportedly in the Works

NBC could look to break into sports programming in a massive way.

A new report from the Wall Street Journal says that NBCUniversal is considering the launch of a new sports network as early as this fall.

The news comes after NBC is already making a significant push into sports, now that they’ve acquired the rights to all the basketball games that would’ve been shown on TNT. NBCU is spending $2.5 billion a year to show a significant portion of the NBA’s 82-game season.

According to the WSJ report, the channel would also stream its content on NBC’s streaming service Peacock, but would offer the channel to cable and satellite distributors for cable users who have yet to make the jump to streaming.

Sports is still the one area where cable absolutely dominates streaming, and is more lucrative than literally anything else on television by a significant margin, so it makes sense NBC wants their own piece of the pie. Sports media consultant Patrick Crakes said to WSJ that the channel is “not going to hurt Peacock, it’s a pay-TV product for people who are stubborn about leaving the bundle.”

The channel, if it happens, will launch in the fall—likely around the same time the NBA season begins.

Streaming service Peacock is already home to plenty of sports, including NBC’s Sunday Night Football, a Peacock-only NFL game, the WNBA, the Olympics, Premier League Soccer, college football, and various golf tournaments.