NYC Marathon will return to live TV in 2012
Runners jog through Park Slope in Brooklyn while competing in the New York City Marathon. (Nov. 6, 2011) Credit: AP
The New York City Marathon will be shown on live national television for the first time in nearly 20 years as part of a new five-year partnership with ABC and ESPN.
Marathon officials and WABC-TV/ESPN announced the deal Monday.
Beginning this year, the marathon will be shown live on ESPN2 from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Eastern and in New York on ABC from 9 a.m. until 2 p.m. ABC will also broadcast nationally a two-hour highlight show. The deal reunites the marathon with ABC, which carried live national broadcasts of the race from 1981-93.
The 26.2-mile race annually draws the world's top professional runners in a field of more than 45,000 participants from all 50 states and more than 125 countries.
The New York City Marathon is Nov. 4.
