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NBC Sports Washington is not affected by NBC Sports Network shutting down later this year

NBC’s regional sports networks are owned and operated by a different entity than the national network.

By Albert Lee
Phoenix Suns v Washington Wizards
NBC Sports Washington is not affected by NBCUniversal’s decision to shut down NBC Sports Network.
Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images

Last week, Jabari Young and Alex Sherman of CNBC reported that NBC Sports Network will shut down by the end of 2021. It marks off a decade of rebrands of the channel since the 1990s, when it was first known as Outdoor Life Network and then Versus in 2006. NBC Sports Network was known by its current name since 2011.

NBCSN’s biggest broadcasting rights include NHL games, NASCAR races and English Premier League soccer games. These games are now moving to USA, which is owned by NBCUniversal, the parent company of NBC Sports Network.

In Young’s and Sherman’s release, the decision to shut down NBC Sports Network is because of a combination of cord cutting in the cable television space as well as the network not gaining ground or at least enough of it against other competitors like ESPN, Fox Sports 1 and CBS Sports Network.

The Washington Wizards’ regional sports network is NBC Sports Washington, so that may lead to you to wonder whether the channel will go dark here, or if another company may be stepping up to buy the channel. For now, NBC Sports Washington will remain as NBC Sports Washington for awhile. The regional sports channels will remain intact because they are operated as different businesses.