American curling enthusiasts will have significantly expanded access to professional competition through a newly announced partnership. The Curling Group has finalized a three-year broadcasting agreement with ESPN that will bring both the Grand Slam of Curling and Rock League to ESPN+ starting with the 2026-27 season.
The deal represents a major shift for U.S. curling viewership, which had been severely limited in recent years. Between the 2022 Beijing Olympics and the upcoming Milan Cortina Games, American fans lost access to major curling events after ESPN ended its simulcasts of flagship tournaments and NBC Sports chose not to renew its world championships contract. ESPN’s return to curling coverage last spring with Rock League streaming marked the beginning of a renewed commitment to the sport.
The new agreement will deliver more than 300 hours of live content to U.S. audiences, beginning in October with the GSOC Invitational in Victoria, British Columbia. The competition schedule includes five Grand Slam events across Canada throughout the fall and early winter, followed by an expanded five-week Rock League season featuring international teams competing in multiple formats including men’s, women’s, and mixed divisions.
The announcement comes shortly after The Curling Group secured expanded broadcast rights in Canada through CBC and Sportsnet for the same events, signaling coordinated efforts to grow the sport’s profile across North America during the upcoming Olympic cycle.
Originally reported by Sports.yahoo →
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