NBC extends soccer deal with England’s Premier League

Signed. Sealed. Delivered. NBC will be the United States’ home for the Premier League in until 2022 after finalizing a six-year contract extension of its current deal, which started with the 2013-14 season.

There’s also the fact that in the US, we have the ability to watch every single Premier League game of the season, either live or streaming, which doesn’t even happen in the country that hosts the league.

On the strength of numerous innovations and programming initiatives – including “Tactical Cam”, THE MEN IN BLAZERS SHOW, multiple Breakaway whip-around shows, road trips to the United Kingdom and NBC’s Super Bowl coverage, and The 2 Robbies “Football” Show – NBC Sports Group in May concluded its second season of Premier League coverage with viewership and consumption milestones. In December, the New York Times reported that Premier League games were attracting more viewers than NHL games on NBCSN.

Financial terms of the new deal have not been released, but with plenty of competition during this round of bidding and viewership on the rise, the value will likely increase by a significant amount. NBC announced last week that the USA Network would air weekly games throughout this season, generally on Saturdays at 10 a.m. ET.

“Outstanding production, expert analysis, and wide audience reach have all been beyond expectations”. (The new MLS media rights deal that began this season covers eight years.) U.S. networks were asked to submit bids for three years and six years. NBC have worked meticulously to provide American fans of the Premier League with a slick product, including immaculate presentations, professional hosting and improving punditry.

It is, of course, much too early to try to read something into the first round of matches in a Premier League season that has another 37 games and more than eight months to run.

“We’ve just seen it take off”, Scudamore said in an interview on NBCSN about American interest in English soccer.

Lazarus said the longer deal would allow for more investment by NBC, including sending more broadcasters over to England. Both spoke on condition of anonymity because details of the negotiations were not made public.