Universal Sports Seal Broadcast Rights to USA Wrestling Events

USA Wrestling have announced today a broadcast partnership with Universal Sports Network to air a series of Olympic-style wrestling competitions in the U.S.

The multi-year deal gives Universal Sports exclusive TV rights to the Freestyle World Cup, U.S. Open, U.S. World Team Trials and additional USA Wrestling programming including an ongoing news and highlights show. This is the first multi-event network television agreement for USA Wrestling, the national governing body for Olympic wrestling.

The announcement comes in advance of the 2014 Freestyle Wrestling World Cup, the annual international dual meet championships, which will air on a tape-delayed basis on Universal Sports Network on Monday, March 24.

“This is a foundational piece in moving wrestling to a more relevant level within the American sports community. We see this as just a beginning, and something we can look back on years from now as a historic moment in the expansion of our sport,” said USA Wrestling Executive Director Rich Bender.

“We are pleased to provide a home for USA Wrestling’s premier events and bring some much-deserved attention to a sport steeped in Olympic history,” said Universal Sports’ V.P. of Programming and Acquisitions Robert James. “This agreement plays an important role in reinforcing our commitment to delivering world-class event programming our fans crave.”

Universal Sports’ 2014 wrestling season coverage begins with the Freestyle Wrestling World Cup, which will be held in Los Angeles, Calif. March 15 and 16. The World Cup features the top 10 men’s freestyle wrestling teams in the world.