It’s not an Olympic year, so you probably forgot that beach volleyball is an actual competitive sport featuring some talented American athletes. But we’ve got some good news for you – NBC hasn’t forgot, and will be airing the AVP Pro Beach Volleyball Tour this summer from May until September.
There are a total of seven events in the AVP season, and the finals of each event will air on either NBC or NBCSN, with all of the events also streaming on NBC Live Extra. Shockingly enough, more of the coverage will air on NBC’s broadcast network as opposed to NBCSN – 10 hours compared to 7.5 hours.
Several of the familiar American names you see every four years at the Olympics compete in the AVP, including Kerri Walsh Jennings, April Ross, Phil Dalhausser, and Sean Rosenthal.
With the Premier League and NHL seasons ending in May and June respectively, NBC is losing to of their biggest draws for the summer, and why not add another niche sport to the mix? Beach volleyball might not pull in monstrous ratings, but at least it’s *something* for NBC to trot onto television. And if it helps promote the Olympics next summer, why not?
