NBC has been a bit behind when it comes to soccer television coverage, but after both Fox and ESPN made deals for various events, NBC has also gotten into the fold, closing a deal to broadcast the English Premier League for the next three years in the United States.
According to Yahoo Sports, SI.com is reporting that NBC will air all 380 games next season on various networks in a deal that will span for three years and $250 million. The games will air live on various channels in the NBC family, including NBC, NBC Sports Network, Telemundo, Mun2 as well as other TV channels and on digital media owned by NBC.
NBC now can consider itself a big player in the soccer broadcasting world and now will have exclusive coverage of the EPL on television. Soccer is the most popular sport in the world and the EPL is considered the most popular league, giving NBC a "leg" above their competition.
The coverage will begin in August and according to the report, NBC will have 20 games, NBC Sports Network will have over 150, while 76 will be on the Spanish channels and 22 will be on NBC Sports Group channels. The report also gives the times for national telecasts, including 7 am and 10 am on Saturdays on the sports network, 12:30 pm on NBC, 8 am Sunday's on NBC Sports as well as at 11 am. There will also be Monday coverage of games.
The live broadcasts were not the only part of the deal, NBC will also offer packages with all 10 am Saturday games, which will be similar to the NFL's all-in package on DirectTV. On top of the game coverage, NBC will also have original and studio content that pertains to soccer as well as a studio show with Rebecca Lowe, who is known as a member of soccer coverage in Europe. The play by play will be with Arlo White, while Premier League players Lee Dixon and Graeme Le Saux will do the analysis.
''Nowhere do they consume sports like they do here,'' Premier League CEO Richard Scudamore said Tuesday. ''We are not unhappy with our current broadcast partners (in the United States), but I can see we are on the threshold of taking it to a new level.''
