NBC Sports Network will become NBCSN so fast, you won’t even notice

The NBC Sports Network begins a bit of a new era with the debut of their commitment to the Barclays Premier League on Saturday. They’ll launch their EPL coverage with a tripleheader starting at 7:45 a.m. ET. It will also begin the evolution of a network that just 20 months ago was known as VERSUS.

During the Stanley Cup Playoffs, I noticed (and many others did, too) that NBC Sports Network talent was starting to refer to the channel as NBCSN, which makes sense. It’s easier to say, and after more than a year on the air, given that NBC has such a familiar ring, you probably know what NBCSN stands for. This is going to become a more permanent move, beginning on Saturday and tailing into the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi.

NBC has announced that NBC Sports Network will “evolve towards” NBCSN in the coming months. Broadcasters and graphics will more consistently refer to the network as such, with NBCSN to be more or less the network’s official name by February 2014. That’s when they’ll provide coverage of the Sochi Games, with Al Michaels serving as the network’s daytime host.

“The high-profile nature of our Premier League launch is the perfect platform to increase our campaign of branding NBC Sports Network as NBCSN. This is a natural evolution from the longer channel name to the acronym, as NBCSN is streamlined visually and a faster read,” said John Miller, CMO, NBC Sports Group (not to be confused with Jon Miller, President of Programming, whom I spoke to on Monday). “Premier League coverage will feature NBCSN as its primary mark. By the Winter Olympics in February, the transformation will be complete, and the Games will be used to solidify NBCSN as the network’s name and brand.”

VERSUS transitioned to the name NBC Sports Network on January 2, 2012.