Just over a decade after letting Belmont Stakes rights slip to ESPN/ABC, NBC has locked up the event.
NBC Sports announced Wednesday that it has reached a multi-year extension of its Belmont Stakes television deal. The New York Times first reported the extension. Terms of the deal were not announced, but the Times reported it would run through “at least” 2020 — extending the network’s run of consecutive Belmont Stakes telecasts to ten.
NBC first aired the Belmont in 2001, part of a five-year deal that included three straight Triple Crown bids. ESPN/ABC swiped the rights in 2005 before NBC came back into the picture in 2011.
With the Belmont secured, only The Preakness Stakes stands in the way of NBC holding onto all three Triple Crown races. The network, per the Times, is still in negotiations to extend its Preakness deal. NBC last year extended its contract with the Kentucky Derby through 2025.
(Wed. news from NBC Sports Group Press Box; The New York Times via Sports Business Daily)
