The Snow League will debut its inaugural event at Aspen Snowmass the weekend of March 7, and you’ll be able to watch it from anywhere in the country.
Announced today, November 19, 2024, the snowboarding and skiing league founded by legendary halfpipe rider Shaun White has inked a deal with NBC Sports to become the official broadcast partner. The event will be aired live on the Peacock app, then be followed by an encore presentation on NBC Sports, the league announced in an Instagram post Tuesday morning.
Men’s and women’s snowboarding will be held at all four events during the 2025 season, and freeskiing will debut at the league’s second event in late 2025, and all events that follow. The prize purse is $1.5 million, split evenly between men and women.
“Throughout the season, all the major events are scattered,” White said on NBC’s TODAY on Tuesday. “There’s no common thread that connects the sport like any other traditional sport. So we’re bringing all the athletes together, putting them at the best resorts in the world.”
View the original article to see embedded media.
White told Forbes that he wants to leverage NBC’s storytelling ability to provide a different experience to fans, similarly to Formula One racing’s Drive to Survive series.
“Shaun White is a true icon and his vision for The Snow League has us excited for this next evolution in our long-time partnership,” NBC’s Joe Gesue said in a press release. “This innovative new venture will showcase top snowboarding and freeskiing athletes at iconic venues around the world, giving world-class competitors a much-deserved spotlight and help us all build momentum heading into what promises to be a magical 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan Cortina.”
Visibility has long been a barrier in the way of preventing snowboarding from having staying power in the mainstream. While the X Games are televised on ESPN and the Olympics receive ample coverage both on NBC and other outlets, that does not cover the majority of competitions on the FIS circuit. It’s something that even its athletes have struggled with.
Photo: Daniel Bayer/Aspen Skiing Company
Red Gerard touched upon the issue of live streaming contests in an interview with the Mark My Bird podcast over the summer.
"It's something that I guess you could say FIS struggles with the most, out of anything, is just not having live results. I don't understand why in slopestyle and in boardercross, why we can't have a live feed of those events," he said. "You're not going to get anyone to watch it if you don't have a live stream to watch it, and I think it's just something that we as competitive snowboarders struggle with so much."
White will also serve as the director of the league. He is no longer snowboarding competitively. A few years ago, he went on Dan Patrick’s show to discuss retirement. When Patrick compared him to Tom Brady, who didn’t retire from the NFL until he was 44, White countered.
“When I think about it, when you’re throwing a ball and you’re off a few inches or so it’s not as bad as when you’re 20 feet in the air, looking at this icy wall going ‘oh, this isn’t good,” he said.
Related: Rob Roethler on Overcoming Fear in 'Four If By Sea'