Cable Network Returning to TV Next Week After Being Shut Down 4 Years Ago

While everyone else is zigging, NBCUniversal is zagging. As every company in the world is trying to figure out how to make streaming profitable, NBC is bringing back an old cable channel from the dead.

NBC Sports Network, or NBCSN, is returning to the airwaves after shutting down in 2021.

It will primarily show sports programming that would normally be shown on the corporation’s streaming service Peacock, including NBA on NBC, MLB games, WNBA games, college sports, the Kentucky Derby, Premier League football matchups, and the Olympics’ Gold Zone show.

“NBCUniversal delivers the biggest moments in sports, and the new NBC Sports Network gives pay-tv customers a seamless way to enjoy the wide range of sports in our portfolio, adding an important pillar in our linear and streaming strategy,” Matt Schnaars, president of platform distribution and partnerships at NBCUniversal, said in a statement.

The channel, previously called Outdoor Life Network, then Versus, then NBCSN, shut down four years ago during the company’s massive push to streaming. Now, NBC has seemed to realize there is still life in cable television after all.

NBCSN will arrive first on YouTube TV before spreading to traditional cable providers, including parent company Comcast’s own cable provider Xfinity. A timeframe on that is currently unknown.