Add USA Sports to the ranks of TV sports stations vying for one of the few games still able to attract the large live audience that advertisers covet.
Versant, the company that will be separated from NBCUniversal in the coming weeks, has launched a USA Sports division to define a broad portfolio of sports rights that includes television broadcasts for NASCAR, PGA Tour, Premier League, WWE, WNBA and more. Versant primarily airs games on its USA and Golf Channel cable networks. CNBC could air USA Sports programming on weekends starting in 2026.
In total, USA Sports will air more than 10,000 hours of game and studio programming, the company said.
“Our new USA Sports brand and division name build on USA Network’s decades-long reputation as America’s premier sports and entertainment network,” USA Sports President Matt Hong said in a statement. “Our diverse portfolio of sports assets and programs across our platforms focuses on top-level world leagues and expands on major events across the sports world. USA Sports offers something for every sports fan across the country.”
USA Sports plans to offer approximately 1,000 hours of women’s sports in 2026, including the WNBA, LPGA Tour and League 1 volleyball.
The new division is named after the USA Network, one of the cable industry’s oldest assets. The channel, originally run by executive Kay Kopolowitz and owned by UA-Columbia Cablevision and Madison Square Garden Corporation, launched in 1977.
Versant’s property lineup leans heavily toward cable, with networks such as MSNBC, CNBC, and E! such as oxygen. Executives have suggested the company is looking to shore up its assets with new products and services, such as newsletters and conferences. This brings you closer to your heaviest audience: the consumer.
