CURLING ON TV
Get your viewing parties, Learn to Curl events set up for Curling Night in America
By Rick Patzke, Chief Executive Officer, USA Curling,
rick.patzke@
usacurl.org
fed the other, of course, especially when NBC became the U.S. broadcast rights-holder for the Olympics, beginning at the turn of the century. During the 2002 Olympic Winter Games NBC showcased more than 50
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hours of curling, primarily on MSNBC, which the network’s own commen- tators quipped now stood for “Must Show Nothing But Curling.” Many other things helped fuel the more than 100-percent growth in curl-
ers (as registered with the U.S. Curling Association) and creation of mul- tiple new clubs since 2002, but the one necessary catalyst that has remained constant is regular national TV exposure. Tis has been affirmed in
USCA membership surveys, and it is crucial to have a national TV presence every year, in particu- lar those years between Olympic Winter Games. Many Olympic sports live for the two to three weeks of attention they get every four years, but then all but disap- pear from America’s conscience for the 1,400-plus days in be- tween. Several strategic partnerships have been formed over the years to help
with this never-ending quest for eyeballs across the country, and one of the most important has been with the World Curling Federation (WCF). It was the WCF that helped produce “Rock Stars: Te World of Curling,” a one-hour, made-for-TV special leading up to the 2002 Olympic Winter Games designed to whet viewers’ appetites for what was to transpire in Salt Lake City. Fiſteen years later, the WCF remains a strong ally and major investor as
we prepare to stage the second Curling Night in America event that will result in nine programs (18 hours) airing on NBC Sports Network through- out January and February 2016. Te competition will take place Dec. 3-5 at Curl Mesabi in Eveleth, Minn., following a very successful event held last December at the Four Seasons Curling Club in Blaine, Minn. Some people have asked and no doubt will continue to ask, “Why is this
series so important to curling in the United States?” At its core, Curling Night in America is a national advertising campaign for the sport, and one that the USCA certainly could not afford to buy if it came down to it. Te series is made for curlers, but not necessarily in the way you may be think- ing. Last winter’s series drew more than 1 million viewers, which of course dwarfs the USCA membership of 20,500. Tis programming is not about just entertaining curlers who want to watch more competitive curling. It is essentially free advertising that all
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wo things that have contributed greatly to the growth of curling in the United States are a return to full-medal status in the Olym- pics (for the 1998 Games), and national television exposure. One
Curling Night in America broadcast schedule In the United States, the TV programs will air in two-hour blocks on
NBC Sports Network (NBCSN). Times shown as Eastern time (ET). Program #1, Jan. 8, 10 p.m. Program #2, Jan. 15, 10 p.m. Program #3, Jan. 29, 10 p.m. Program #4 & #5, Feb. 5, 8 p.m. & 10 p.m. Program #6, Feb. 12, 10 p.m. Program #7 & #8, Feb. 19, 8 p.m. & 10 p.m. Program #9, Feb. 26, 10 p.m.
clubs should capitalize on for driving membership, corporate outreach, and other creative ways to maximize their own business of curling, to engage those 1 million other interested people out there. Te TV programs are also an asset the USCA can utilize for attracting
sponsors, as can those featured athletes, who also benefit from another highly competitive environment on home ice. Our nation’s teams will com- pete against China, Japan and Scotland this time around, and the newest Olympic discipline – mixed doubles – has been added to the format. Te U.S. will be represented by national mixed doubles champions Sarah
Anderson (Broomall, Pa.) and Korey Dropkin (Southborough, Mass.). In the team events, three-time Olympian John Shuster (Superior, Wis.) will take his 2015 men's national championship-winning team of Tyler George (Duluth, Minn.), Matt Hamilton (McFarland, Wis.), and John Landsteiner (Duluth, Minn.) into the competition. Te U.S. women's team will be made up of Jamie Sinclair (Blaine, Minn.), Tabitha Peterson (Eagan, Minn.), Bec- ca Hamilton (McFarland, Wis.), and Jenna Haag (Milwaukee, Wis.). With nine programs to produce for the 2016 series, this event and pro-
duction will cost well over $1 million. NBC itself is a major investor, has juggled schedules to make the shows run more consecutively and in an ear- lier time slot, and has committed to the series for at least the next three years. Te U.S. Olympic Committee marketing division has signed on as a presenting sponsor for the next two years, with an option for 2018. Te WCF, as mentioned previously, remains a major benefactor and will lead the on-site production through its World Curling Television arm. As a tes- timonial to the asset value, new USCA sponsor Life Wear Technologies has committed to sponsoring this event for the next three years and even into 2019, assuming the series continues then. With more time to plan and stage the event this year than the barely two
months we had last season, there will be improvements made to the overall look and production of it. Having commitments already in place for the 2017 series will allow for even more enhancements in the future. Yes, these 18 hours of programming pale in comparison to the hundreds
of hours of curling televised each year in Canada. But it is also six more hours than we had last year, and multiple times more than that shown in previous years. Imagine what this could grow into if the entire U.S. curling community got engaged and made the most of the opportunities at hand. Q
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