Cordella joined NBC in 2006 and was most recently president of programming for NBC Sports and Peacock Sports. (Grant Lamos IV/Getty Images for AWXII)

US media giant NBCUniversal has named Rick Cordella as the new president of its NBC Sports network.

He replaces Pete Bevacqua, who stepped down earlier this year to become the athletic director at Notre Dame.

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Cordella will take charge of NBC Sports' platforms including NBC Sports, NBC Olympics, the Golf Channel, NBC Sports Digital, NBC Sports Next, and NBC Sports on Peacock, the company's streaming platform that shows American football's NFL, English soccer’s Premier League, and the Nascar stock car racing series.

Having joined NBC in 2006, he was most recently president of programming for NBC Sports and Peacock Sports. In the role, he led NBCUniversal's sports programming strategy across broadcast, cable, and streaming and oversaw sports betting and sports fantasy.

He previously served as general manager at fantasy sports and news company Rotoworld.com.

Mark Lazarus, NBCUniversal Media Group chairman, said: “Rick has been at the epicenter of NBC Sports for years with a proven track record of growth and innovation across platforms, particularly our flagship NBC network as well as Peacock, where he helped architect our leadership role in sports and streaming.

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“Rick will oversee the evolution of our business as we continue to offer the best experiences and content to our viewers, as well as be the best partner to leagues and rightsholders.”

Bevacqua became the second high-profile executive to leave NBCUniversal after chief executive Jeff Shell stepped down in April after acknowledging an inappropriate relationship with an employee.

He was the third chairman in the history of NBC Sports in 2020 after being promoted from his previous position as president of the sports group.