STAMFORD, CONN. -July 14, 2014- NBC Sports Ventures, a division of NBC Sports Group, Spartan Race, the global leader in the sport of obstacle racing, and Reebok, today announced a multi-year strategic alliance that will provide unprecedented coverage of the Reebok Spartan Race series across NBC Sports Group platforms, and will see all groups cooperate on joint marketing, promotional and sales efforts.
The alliance provides NBC Sports Ventures with the exclusive broadcast, cable and digital rights to the Reebok Spartan Race series. NBC Sports Group’s coverage will culminate with the Spartan Race World Championship on Sunday, November 16th at 3 p.m. ET on NBC. Leading up to the World Championship, NBCSN will telecast five additional Reebok Spartan Races, beginning Tuesday, July 22nd at 11 p.m. ET with a race from Tuxedo, NY. All races shown on NBC and NBCSN will be streamed on NBC Sports Live Extra, NBC Sports Group’s live streaming product for desktops, mobile devices and tablets. Encore presentations of Reebok Spartan Races will also be available on NBCSN, NBC Sports Regional Sports Networks, and Universal Sports Network.
During each telecast, viewers will be provided a front-row seat to competitors tackling a gauntlet of obstacles, including spear throws, fire jumps, aerial traverses over water, challenging rope climbs and barbed wire crawls. In addition, the all-access experience will chronicle the stories of many of the amazing people competing in the races.
In addition to its linear and digital presentation of the racing series, NBC Sports Ventures will provide Spartan Race with marketing and promotional support, and lead its national sponsorship and international television sales efforts.
“We are thrilled to launch this strategic alliance with Spartan Race and join them as pioneers in bringing this new sport category to television,” said Rob Simmelkjaer, Senior Vice President, NBC Sports Ventures. “The skill and excitement of obstacle racing is something that athletes and sports fans of all disciplines can appreciate. Spartan Race is the world’s premier obstacle racing series, and we are looking forward to growing the fan base and obstacle racing business together with the help of NBC Sports’ unique promotional and marketing support.”
“At Reebok, we believe in the power of obstacle racing as a means for people to push themselves and discover their full potential,” said Yan Martin, Vice President, Global Brand Communications, Reebok. “We’re extremely excited to see this fascinating sport being brought to a wider audience. This partnership will not only raise the sport’s profile, but will inspire people watching at home to get out and challenge themselves – and have a great time doing it.”
Said Spartan Race’s CEO, Joe De Sena, “The entire team at Spartan is excited to launch our partnership with NBC Sports Group. By amplifying the level of visibility for the sport of obstacle racing, we’re taking a huge step towards our mission to pull people off the couch and get them living fit. We have big dreams for this sport, and exciting times are ahead. Our alliance with NBC Sports moves us firmly towards our goals.”
Reebok Spartan Race Television Schedule: (All times ET)
| DATE | RACE LOCATION | NETWORK | TIME |
| Tues., July 22 | Tuxedo, N.Y. | NBCSN | 11 p.m. |
| Tues., August 19 | Palmerton, Pa. | NBCSN | 9 p.m. |
| Sat., September 13 | Washougal, Wash. | NBCSN | 2 p.m. |
| Tues., September 23 | Amesbury, Mass. | NBCSN | 10 p.m. |
| Sat., October 25 | Wintergreen, Va. | NBCSN | 12:30 p.m. |
| Sun., November 16 | Killington, Vt. | NBC | 3 p.m. |
NBC Sports Live Extra — NBC Sports Group’s live streaming product for desktops, mobile devices and tablets — will stream all Reebok Spartan Races on NBC and NBCSN. For desktops, NBC Sports Live Extra can be accessed at NBCSports.com/liveextra. The NBC Sports Live Extra app for mobile devices and tablets is available at the App Store for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch, and on select Android handset and tablet devices within Google Play and on Windows 8 and Windows mobile devices.
