Universal Sports Network’s LIVE Multiplatform Coverage of the 2012 Four Continents Figure Skating Championships Spotlights Top Skaters from the Americas, Asia, Africa and Oceania
Los Angeles - February 8, 2012 - Universal Sports Network this weekend will exclusively present the 2012 International Skating Union (ISU) Four Continents Figure Skating Championships featuring top skaters from the Americas, Asia, Africa and Oceania. Beginning on Thursday, February 9, the network will offer extensive LIVE television coverage from Colorado Springs, Colo., as well as live streaming on UniversalSports.com and www.icenetwork.com for a subscription price of $9.95. For more information, go to http://www.universalsports.com/figure-skating/index.html.
Universal Sports Network's broadcast team will include play-by-play announcer Andrea Joyce, Olympic gold medalist and World and U.S. champion Tara Lipinski, Olympic silver medalist and four-time World medalist ice dancer Tanith Belbin, and Olympic silver medalist and four-time U.S. champion pair skater Peter Carruthers.
"This is an extremely strong field in all four disciplines and will be a terrific preview to the World Championships coming up at the end of March. We will see a great showdown between Patrick Chan and Daisuke Takahashi and everyone can assess Ashley Wagner's potential when she goes head to head with Mao Asada," said David Michaels, executive producer of Universal Sports Network. "Live coverage of the Four Continents Championships shows our continuing commitment to airing the top worldwide figure skating events. Universal Sports Network is now the ultimate destination for international skating: home to the ISU Grand Prix series, the European Championships, Four Continents and the World Figure Skating Championships."
Headlining the event are U.S. and World champion ice dancers Meryl Davis and Charlie White who will face stiff competition from reigning Olympic gold medalists Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir of Canada. This marks the first meeting of the two teams since Virtue and Moir placed second to Davis and White at the 2011 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final in December. In addition, U.S. ice dancers Maia Shibutani and Alex Shibutani and Madison Hubbell and Zach Donohue will also compete.
The competition will also feature a showdown between World champion Patrick Chan from Canada against five-time Japanese champion Daisuke Takahashi. Representing the U.S. in the men's competition are U.S. silver medalist Adam Rippon and U.S. bronze medalist Ross Minor. Three-time U.S. figure skating champion Jeremy Abbott withdrew from the competition due to a right hip injury and will be replaced by Richard Dornbush, 2011 U.S. silver medalist.
The ladies will feature newly minted U.S. champion Ashley Wagner, who will be challenged by fellow Americans Agnes Zawadski and Caroline Zhang as well as Kanako Murakami and Olympic silver medalist Mao Asada of Japan and Cynthia Phaneuf of Canada.
The pairs competitors include Caydee Denney and John Coughlin, who last week won the U.S. pairs title, along with runners-up Mary Beth Marley and Rockne Brubaker and third-place finishers Amanda Evora and Mark Ladwig. In addition, China's Wenjing Sui and Cong Han, two-time junior pairs champions, will compete.
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Universal Sports Network’s Broadcast Schedule
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| Four Continents Figure Skating Championships LIVE from Colorado Springs, Colo. | |||
| Thurs., Feb. 9 | 11 PM-1 AM | Men’s Short Program | Universal Sports |
| Fri., Feb. 10 | 5:30-7:30 PM | Ladies’ Short Program | Universal Sports |
| 11 PM-1 AM | Men’s Free Skate | Universal Sports | |
| Sat., Feb. 11 | 3-5 PM | Pairs’ Short Program | Universal Sports |
| 6-7:30 PM | Short Dance | Universal Sports | |
| 11 PM-1 AM | Ladies’ Free Skate | Universal Sports | |
| Sun., Feb. 12 | 2:30-4 PM | Pairs’ Free Skate | Universal Sports |
| 5-7 PM | Free Dance | Universal Sports | |
Universal Sports Network recently transitioned to a multi-platform, high definition cable, satellite and IPTV service. Currently, DirecTV and several other cable providers offer Universal Sports Network. Viewers whose cable, satellite or IPTV providers are not currently offering the network should call 1-800-55-GET-US or visit www.IWantUniversalSports.com and demand access to the network's coverage of the world's biggest championships.
Universal Sports, a partnership between NBC Sports and InterMedia Partners, LP, is the premier multi-platform media destination for Olympic-related sports programming in the United States. Offering more than 1,200 hours of original programming each year, Universal Sports has exclusive rights to world and national championship events in a wide array of sports, including swimming, track and field, gymnastics, volleyball, skiing, figure skating and rugby. Whether on television, online, or on the go with mobile and tablet applications, Universal Sports offers a four-screen experience to fans of global sports every day of the year. For more information, please visit UniversalSports.com.
Media Contact:
Megan Bondi
404-933-1610
mbondi@universalsports.com / mcwbondi@gmail.com
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Get the details on how and when to watch upcoming competitions in Track & Field, Alpine Skiing, Gymnastics, Figure Skating, Beach Volleyball, Rugby, Swimming and more LIVE on UniversalSports.com.
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