NBC & Sister Networks Partner to Air Over 16 Hours of USA SEVENS VEGAS Coverage

NBC Sports Group will deliver more than 16 hours of the 2013 USA Sevens Vegas tournament this weekend on NBC, NBC Sports Network and Universal Sports. Coverage begins on NBC Sports Network this Saturday at 2 p.m. ET, from Sam Boyd Stadium in Las Vegas, Nev. Tournament coverage will continue through the weekend and will include several full matches as well as highlights from the three-day event.

The USA Sevens Vegas tournament is the fifth of nine stops on the 2012-13 HSBC Sevens World Series. One of the premier Rugby Sevens events in the world, and the largest Rugby tournament in North America, USA Sevens Vegas will feature the USA Eagles and 15 other national teams competing to gain points in the Sevens World Series standings.

Played on the same size field as traditional 15-player rugby, sevens rugby is played with just seven players per team. Matches have seven minute halves, with two minute intervals for pool and knock-out matches.

Veteran play-by-play announcer Todd Harris will call the matches for each telecast. Harris will be joined in the booth by former USA Sevens captain and USA Rugby World Cup participant Brian Hightower. Marty Snider will report from the sidelines.

For the first time ever, NBC Sports Group will introduce Rugby Cam. During NBC and NBC Sports Network's coverage of this weekend's tournament, referees will wear a small POV camera on a chest harness to help deliver a new view of the sport. The Rugby Cam will feature more of the speed and physical aspects of the sport and help capture the hectic pace of the game.

For the second year in a row, NBC and NBC Sports Group will also feature On The Pitch segments. As part of the feature, several teams will participate in instructional segments to help educate viewers on the key components of the sport including scrums, drop kicks and tackling. In addition the head coaches for each team will be wired for sound during each game.

NBC Sports Group is the domestic television home of the HSBC Sevens World Series tour. In 2013, NBC, the NBC Sports Network and Universal Sports will combine to televise more than 34 hours of HSBC Rugby Sevens coverage from New Zealand, China, Japan, Scotland, England and the United States.

The NBC Sports Group is also the exclusive home of USA Sevens Vegas and the Collegiate Rugby Championship. NBC and NBC Sports Network will telecast seven hours of collegiate Rugby Sevens action from the Collegiate Rugby Sevens Championships in Philadelphia, PA., on June 1-2. The Collegiate Rugby Championship is a joint collaboration between the NBC Sports Group and USA Sevens LLC. The tournament features 20 of the top college rugby teams in the nation including Notre Dame, Texas, Cal and Florida.

2013 Rugby Sevens Coverage on NBC, NBC Sports Network and Universal Sports

Rugby Sevens

Date	Time	Network	Location
Fri., Feb 8	8 PM-1 AM ET	Universal Sports	Las Vegas
Sat., Feb 9	2-4 PM ET	NBC Sports Network	Las Vegas
Sat., Feb 9	4-6 PM ET	NBC	Las Vegas
Sat. Feb 9	7-9 PM ET	NBC Sports Network	Las Vegas
Sun. Feb 10	12:30-2 PM ET	Universal Sports	Las Vegas
Sun. Feb 10	2-4 PM ET	NBC Sports Network	Las Vegas
Sun. Feb 10	4-6 PM ET	NBC	Las Vegas
Mar 24	9-11 PM ET	Universal Sports	Hong Kong
Mar 24	11 PM-1 AM ET	NBC Sports Network	Hong Kong
Mar 31	2-4 PM ET	Universal Sports	Japan
Mar 31	4-6 PM ET	NBC Sports Network	Japan
May 5	TBD	NBC Sports Network	Scotland
May 12	TBD	NBC Sports Network	England

Collegiate Rugby Championship

Sat. June 1	3:00-4:30 PM ET	NBC	Philadelphia
Sat. June 1	4:30-6:00 PM ET	NBC Sports Network	Philadelphia
Sun. June 2	2:00-4:00 PM ET	NBC Sports Network	Philadelphia
Sun. June 2	4:00-6:00 PM ET	NBC	Philadelphia