During this time NBC Sports properties generally only aired on USA in special cases, such as during the Olympics, Stanley Cup Playoffs (until 2021) or the final week of the English Premier League season.
On January 22, 2021, an internal memo sent by NBC Sports president Pete Bevacqua announced that NBCSN would cease operations by the end of the year, and that USA Network would begin "carrying and/or simulcasting certain NBC Sports programming," including the Stanley Cup Playoffs (until 2021), and NASCAR races, before NBCSN's shutdown.
USA Sports continued to be used as the branding for coverage of the PGA Tour, The Masters, the Ryder Cup, and the US Open tennis tournament.
NBC Universal traded away USA's Friday Ryder Cup coverage through 2012 to ESPN for the rights to sign Al Michaels for its new Sunday Night Football.
During this time NBC Sports properties generally only aired on USA in special cases, such as during the Olympics, Stanley Cup Playoffs or the final week of the English Premier League season.
[7] As part of a 2011 contract renewal, Comcast's properties earned exclusive national rights for all Stanley Cup playoffs through 2021.
In 2014, due to NBCSN's coverage of the 2014 Winter Olympics, an English Premier League match between Arsenal and Sunderland aired on USA Network.
[12] USA Network aired a limited amount of NBC Sports's Notre Dame college football coverage in 2020.
USA would carried the September 19 college football game between the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and University of South Florida Bulls.
Notre Dame's double-overtime win against Clemson on November 7, 2020, was moved temporarily to USA Network, due to coverage of Joe Biden's acceptance speech after being declared consensus winner of the 2020 presidential election.
[20] In April 2022, USA Network became NBC Sports's cable home for United States Football League (USFL) coverage,[21] which it announced it would not continue after the 2023 season.