NBCUni Sports Network Going Off-The-Air

A cable and satellite network that’s home to NHL games, NASCAR racing and English Premier League football is going dark. “Variety” reports NBCSN will cease broadcast operations at the end of this year. Parent company NBCUniversal told distributors it will shutter the sports channel and move some of its properties to the USA Network — which used to air Major League Baseball, NHL and NBA games during its early years. USA will not become an all-sports network — but more like TNT, which combines sporting events with entertainment programming. It’s not known whether the move will affect NBC Sports employees. The division recently laid off staff members as part of a restructuring at NBCUniversal as the Comcast-owned broadcaster copes with the economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic.