Michael Johnson’s new track league has struck a media deal for Peacock to stream all the action live and The CW to broadcast the weekend races during the four events in 2025.
The Grand Slam Track League has signed 48 racers, including Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone and Gabby Thomas, to compete in a four-event circuit beginning April 4 in Kingston, Jamaica.
Johnson, the four-time Olympic gold medalist, has raised upward of $30 million and the league is promising $100,000 first prizes and a prize pool of more than $12.6 million in addition to undisclosed amounts to those who participate in the season-long series.
Securing media deals was considered a key piece of the rollout. The move gives NBC Sports, the Olympic rights holder that operates Peacock, a foothold in track and field after not renewing its deal to stream track’s Diamond League meets after last year.
The CW’s highest-profile sports deal, with LIV Golf, ended after two seasons of paltry ratings. The start-up golf series recently signed a deal with Fox Sports that goes into effect this year.
The CW also carries Atlantic Coast Conference football and basketball games, Pac-12 football and NASCAR’s Xfinity Series.
Johnson’s mission is to keep track in front of fans for more than just the Olympic year and to set up more showdowns between the sport’s top athletes.
Other events this year are scheduled for Miami, Los Angeles and Philadelphia. The events will place runners in groups — sprints, hurdles, middle distance, etc., — and they will race twice over a weekend, with their placement in the races, not their times, determining the champions in each group.
Source: AP