Premier League chairman Richard Scudamore told The Guardian: “NBC Sports has done a fantastic job broadcasting the Barclays Premier League for the last two seasons”.
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Today, we got news that our soccer-watching cup will continue to runneth over – NBC and the Premier League announced a new deal that runs through the 2021/22 season, ensuring that the US will continue to have the best, most comprehensive coverage of the English game anywhere in the world.
Viewership has been soaring for global soccer in the U.S., making the Premier League a hot property with most major sports rights locked up long term.
NBC has won acclaim among fans for its all-out coverage of the final day of the season, in particular, with games aired simultaneously across 10 channels – from the flagship broadcast network to the likes of E!, Oxygen and SyFy. The network has one season left on its current three-year, $250 million deal for the matches.
Audience figures for Premier League games are growing on NBC, with matches averaging 479,000 viewers last season, up 9% from the season before.
While it wasn’t quite an afterthought on ESPN, NBC took its coverage to the next level, establishing a solid roster of talent with Rebecca Lowe, Arlo White, Robbie Mustoe, Robbie Earle and Kyle Martino.
“We are extremely pleased that they have invested in our US rights for seasons 2016-17 to 2021-22”.
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The Premier League on NBC Sports is here to stay. “NBC Sports has committed to extend partnership activation and promotion of clubs in future seasons – a significant factor in the awarding of these rights – and we look forward to continuing our excellent working relationship with them for the next seven years”. Fans in the US are actually able to watch more Premier League games live than their counterparts in the UK, where 3pm Saturday kick-offs are subject to a television blackout.
