The Versus Network Becomes NBC Sports Network

Posted Aug 1, 2011 by Walt Belcher

Updated Aug 1, 2011 at 05:47 PM

The sports network Versus will be renamed the NBC Sports Network, effective Jan. 2, 2012, NBC Sports Group announced today,

Some of us lowly viewers thought Versus was a dumb name anyway.  The move is part of a new strategy to put all of NBC Sports outlets - broadcast network, two national cable networks, 11 regional sports networks and digital—under one name. In addition, the NBC Sports Group will tweak the NBC Sports logo.

Mark Lazarus, chairman of the NBC Sports Group, made the announcement at the Television Critics Association conference in Beverly Hills.

The NBC Sports Network will serve as a 24/7 cable platform for NBC Sports’ heritage of storytelling, best-in-class production and broad promotional power. Many NBC Sports production and programming elements have already been introduced on Versus since the merger—such as adopting the “Inside the Glass” production philosophy for all its NHL games, and adding horse racing and Notre Dame football-related programming.

Viewers can expect to see more changes in the future.

“This effort is a major step towards a complete strategic alignment of all our platforms and businesses,” Lazarus said. “This is more than just a name change for Versus—it’s a complete repositioning of the brand to provide value for marketers, consumers as well as all our affiliates and distributors. We want anyone who comes into contact with any of our assets to immediately connect with the NBC Sports brand promise.”

The new NBC Sports logo features an evolutionary design that maintains the equity of the classic NBC Sports logo, while signaling something new. Changes include a slightly larger peacock, a new font for the letters “NBC” to put them in balance with the peacock, and a new hand-lettered font for the scripted word “Sports” that was created exclusively for NBC Sports.