New York City Marathon to Be Shown Live Nationally
By KEN BELSON
Published: January 6, 2012 

The New York City Marathon will be broadcast live and across the nation for the first time in nearly two decades, the most significant feature of a new television deal that is expected to be announced by New York Road Runners as soon as Friday.

As part of a five-year deal, the race will be carried for three and a half hours on ESPN2, which reaches nearly every household with cable or satellite television, and for five hours on WABC, ABC’s affiliate in the New York area. WABC will also broadcast the marathon’s opening ceremony and a half-hour preview show the night before the race, which will be held Nov. 4, and ABC will televise a highlight show a few hours after the race.