POSTED: Monday January 26th 2009
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

UNIVERSAL SPORTS TO BROADCAST NIGHT SLALOM FROM SCHLADMING, AUSTRIA

World Cup Live Broadcast Starts 2:30 p.m. ET This Tuesday; Live Webcast Starts 11:50 a.m. ET with Slalom First-Run

       Ski World Championships Start Feb. 3 on Universal Sports




       \“It\‘s a crazy event.  Flares are going off.  It\‘s a
complete show.  The crowd is more overwhelming than the skiing\” – Ted
Ligety, U.S. Ski Team member and defending Giant Slalom World Cup
champion



LOS ANGELES—January 26, 2009 – When the floodlights turn on in
Schladming, 60,000 people show up on the course for a big party and
slalom racing.  Universal Sports presents an exclusive live broadcast
and webcast of the FIS men\‘s alpine ski World Cup, starting this
Tuesday at 2:30 p.m. ET from Schladming, Austria



COVERAGE ON UNIVERSAL SPORTS:  Universal Sports, available in 30
million homes, will present a live broadcast on its 24-hour television
network from 2:30 – 4:30 p.m. ET (slalom run #2) and a same day encore
presentation from 8:00 – 10:00 p.m. ET.



COVERAGE ON UNIVERSALSPORTS.COM:
 Universal Sports will offer a free, live webcast on
UniversalSports.com starting 11:50 a.m. ET (slalom run #1) ET and 2:30
p.m. ET (slalom run #2).  The slalom event will be available for
on-demand viewing.



LIGETY ON SCHLADMING:  \“It\‘s a cool, crazy event.  There are so many
people on the course.  People are 20 deep at the start, heckling you,
cheering for you and asking for autographs.  There\‘s no break for
yourself. You\‘re down the hill not far from the crowd on either side.
 Flares are going off.  There is smoke on the course sometimes.  It\‘s a
complete show.  It\‘s pretty unbelievable to ski in those conditions.
 The crowd is more overwhelming than the skiing.\”





SCHLADMING IS ONE BIG CRAZY PARTY:  The Night Race in Schladming is the
most famous stop for slalom specialists, but not just for the race-the
after-party is just as well-known. Over 60,000 fans and celebrities
flock to the Austrian ski town for the three-day celebration under the
floodlights. While the Austrian fans would enjoy a win by hometown
heroes Benjamin Raich (four-time champion of the Planai course), or
Mario Matt (reigning champion), the atmosphere is unlike any other stop
on the World Cup circuit and all racers agree:  it\‘s crazy in
Schladming.



ALPINE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS ON NBC AND UNIVERSAL SPORTS START FEB. 3:
 NBC Sports and Universal Sports will broadcast exclusive coverage of
the 2009 Alpine World Championships, February 3-15, from Val d\‘Isere,
France. NBC will present the men\‘s and women\‘s downhill events on Feb.
7-8, with a highlights show on Feb. 15. Universal Sports will broadcast
every Championship event same-day, including live webcasts, with over
100 hours of coverage.  Detailed broadcast schedules are available at
UniversalSports.com.



ABOUT UNIVERSAL SPORTS: Universal Sports, a partnership between NBC
Sports and InterMedia Partners, serves as the preeminent multiplatform
destination for Olympic-related and lifestyle sports programming
available on television and online. Universal Sports is a 24-hour
television channel available in 30 million television households in
markets including New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Dallas, Philadelphia,
Washington DC, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, Hartford, New Haven,
Las Vegas, Reno and Omaha. Major world championship and Olympic
qualifying events found on Universal Sports range from track and field,
skiing, swimming, gymnastics, marathons and cycling, to volleyball,
rowing, triathlon, fencing, speed skating and martial arts.
UniversalSports.com delivers an immersive experience via live and
on-demand competition coverage, interaction with top athletes through
blogs and in-depth access to Olympic sports news and information year
round. For more information on the availability of the Universal Sports
24-hour television channel, please visit UniversalSports.com



# # #



For more information, please contact:



T.K. Gore

Universal Sports

240.396.1907

tkgore@wcsn.com



Melisa Mowry

Universal Sports

240.396.1906

mmowry@wcsn.com




       Members of the media can get more information about NBC
Universal and its programming on the NBC Universal Media Village Web
site at www.nbcumv.com.

# # #

Keywords · NBC · Skiing · Universal sports · FIS

Name: Adam Freifeld
Organization: NBC
Email:
Phone: +1.212-664-6772

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