Curling is starting to reach something of a critical mass here in the United States. Interest in the sport continues to rise, as does the number of clubs and, ultimately, curlers. One of the things that has been sorely lacking in the United States is media coverage of the sport. It's something of a chicken and egg situation: There aren't enough people interested in the sport to warrant coverage on US television; without that coverage, people aren't exposed to the sport, and it remains some kind of mystery joke-sport.
This may be about to change.
ESPN has reached an agreement with its Canadian brother, TSN, to provide coverage of the Tournament of Champions through March, 2015. What does this mean? In short, it means that folks in the States will be able to watch the Scotties and the Brier. Coverage kicked off this past weekend with the Canada Cup, and there will be more coverage over the course of three weekends in January. The Scotties (the Canadian championships for the ladies) will take place from February 14-22, and the Brier (the Canadian men's championships) will take place from the 28th of February to the 8th of March.
Viewers will be able to stream the events live through ESPN3, and through a variety of streaming TV apps and devices. More details are available here.
In addition to the Tournament of Champions coverage, we'll also soon be watching a made-for-tv event on NBC's sports network. "Curling Night in America" has been filmed at the Four Seasons Curling Club in Blaine, MN. This eight team competition will air on NBCSN in six episodes. Men's and women's teams from China, Japan, New Zealand, and the United States have already competed in the U.S. Curling Grand Prix. Exactly when these epsiodes will air is unclear. We'll keep you posted.