When Comcast formally acquired NBC Universal back in January of 2011, it was only a matter of time before the two sports powerhouses combined their national, regional, and cable efforts to create a single sports media juggernaut.

Following a complete overhaul from brand strategy through to creative execution that included the rebrand of Comcast's Versus channel to NBC Sports Network on January 2nd, 2012, NBC Sports Group is showing off its new face in 2012.

The NBC Sports Group’s new identity launched in January with the rebrand of Versus to NBC Sports Network, and has rolled out across their coverage of the Super Bowl and Triple Crown. The new brand is set to further roll out during NBC Sports Group’s Olympic coverage in July, and will be featured on NBC, NBC Sports Network, the Group’s RSNs (regional sports networks), and digital and web properties.Continue reading...

An inveterate horse-racing crowd of 155,804 attended Saturday’s running of the 136th Kentucky Derby. An additional record-breaking crowd watched from their living rooms, as Calvin Borel’s Super Saver won, drawing a 10.3/22 overnight rating on NBC Saturday — up a tick from last year's 10.2/22 rating.

The CEO of Louisville’s Churchill Downs, Bob Evans, would like to see the Triple Crown run as one series on one network, instead of divided between NBC and ESPN. There is precedent, as NBC broadcast all three races from 2001-2005.

“They’ve changed the way horse racing is presented,” Evans told the New York Times. NBC has produced the Triple Crown races, creating the epitome of branded entertainment, replete with pre-Derby hoopla that extends the franchise and deepens the ratings. They’ve also leveraged their ‘related’ networks, CNBC and Bravo, to promote the event and sell it as entertainment on shows like Today.Continue reading...