NBC planning ‘extensive additional coverage’ of Belmont

by | 05.21.2012 | 9:59am
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NBC had planned to air a total of 6 1/2 hours of coverage of the Belmont Stakes on NBC Sports Network and NBC. Spokesman Greg Hughes said the network will now air “extensive additional coverage,” reports USA Today. The coverage has been extended because I’ll Have Another will be competing for the Triple Crown.

Since 2000, the eight Belmont’s run without a Triple Crown on the line averaged a viewership of 4 percent of U.S. TV households. In the four runnings where a Triple Crown was on the line, viewership averaged 10.1 percent. That 10.1 percent rating is better than the ratings achieved by some NFL games, most final-round coverage of the Master’s and many Bowl Championship Series college football games.

» Read more at USA Today
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  • Ida Lee

    “extensive additional coverage” by NBC Sports & NBC…let the TC mania begin!!!

  • Don Reed

    Oh Goody: 50 more sob stories, 75 more “redemption” angles, and 100 more interviews of people who have been already interviewed 100 times.

    Maybe Universal will top it all off with a Liberty-Ship-speed-built “I’ll Have Another” amusement theme park in the infield (financed by CashCall at 250% interest).

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/MyBig-Red/100000980578079 MyBig Red

    Thank You, NBC :) Just in case I don’t win the trip to the Belmont Stakes, I can watch the full coverage on my TV !!
    YAHOO Triple Crown, Baby !! Oh, how I hope & pray “I’ll Have Another” wins. 

  • wallyhorse

    Whatever happens, hopefully, NBC will include the Manhattan Stakes, a very important turf race for older horses that is the race before the Belmont on that telecast. A BIG complaint heard from many was two other stakes events (Allaire duPont Distaff and Dixie Stakes) that were not shown on NBC even though they were run during the Preakness telecast. While I know the networks worry about TV critics (ABC was slammed in 2006 for including the Acorn and Manhattan on that Belmont Stakes telecast by critics), NBC need to remember that while 99% of the people watching don’t care about the other races, there are a lot of people who not only care about them, but have wagers on them and the two stakes noted were both parts of a Pick Four that had a $1 Million Guaranteed pool and Pick Five that had a $166,000+ carryover and a mandatory payout, with earlier legs of those having been shown on NBC Sports Network.If nothing else, what should be done for the Belmont if they don’t want to include the Manhattan on the main broadcast is to have a mirror broadcast on NBC Sports Network at the same time for the Manhattan and give NBC stations the choice of carrying either the first hour of the main NBC Belmont telecast OR the additional hour on NBC Sports Network with the Manhattan Stakes (with the other airing on NBC Sports Network). I suspect in markets where Horse Racing is more important, a large number of stations would opt for the mirror broadcast and shift the first hour of the main broadcast to NBC Sports Network while where it’s not as big a deal they would air the main broadcast.

  • http://profile.yahoo.com/UBMSLSDNMQGIUFM3ITSS2ZLKNI Al

    NBC announces Belmont telecast begins at 4:30pm and goes through 7:15pm, extended coverage also available on NBCSN and nbcsports.com.

  • Don Reed

    Lovely.  Perhaps Chelsea Clinton will be in a position to announce the
    results of the Inquiry.

    All of us who have interviewed for ostensibly “open” position in
    corporations will be delighted at the clarion sound of her pronouncement of the
    results.

    (She speak inaudibly, without conviction, so listen up.)  

    This will especially appeal to all Brown
    University graduates (& by extension,
    all college grads), who since graduating, somehow weren’t miraculously offered
    - right off the bat and with no experience – a salary of @ $100,000+ at a Manhattan public relations
    firm.

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