NBC networks to televise EPL next season
NBC networks to televise all 380 English Premier League games next season
Arlo White, left, listens as Rebecca Lowe speaks during a joint NBC and English Premier League (EPL) press conference on Tuesday, April 16, 2013 in New York. All 380 EPL games will be televised live by NBC and its networks next season as part of a multiyear contract. White will be the lead play-by-play voice during coverage and Lowe host the telecasts beginning Aug. 17. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews)
NEW YORK (AP) -- All 380 English Premier League games will be televised live by NBC and its networks next season as part of a multiyear contract.
The telecasts begin Aug. 17 and will be carried on NBC, NBC Sports Network, Telemundo, Mun2, other NBC television properties, and various digital outlets.
NBC is scheduled to air 20 games, with 154 on NBC Sports Network; 76 of the telecasts will be in Spanish on Telemundo or Mun2; and 22 will be shown on other NBC Sports Group channels.
Windows for the national telecasts are 7 a.m. and 10 a.m. ET Saturdays on NBCSN, and 12:30 p.m. on NBC; 8 a.m. Sundays on NBCSN and 11 a.m. on that channel and Telemundo; and 2:30 p.m. ET Mondays on NBCSN.
In addition, NBC is making available free to all carriers of NBC Sports Network a package of all EPL games played at 10 a.m. ET on Saturdays — the primary starting time in the Premier League. Called Premier League Extra Time, it is similar to DirecTV's NFL Sunday Ticket.
"I can't wait for Aug. 17 to come and we get started," NBC Sports Group Chairman Mark Lazarus said Tuesday. "It's about making this one of the key pillars of our landscape."
The deal comes at a time when Fox and ESPN also have heavy involvement in soccer. But the world's most popular league in the world's most popular sport will belong solely to NBC for the next three years at a rights fee of $250 million.
Arlo White, who currently calls MLS games on NBCSN, will handle play-by-play from England. Former Premier League players Lee Dixon and Graeme Le Saux will handle analysis. Former England national team star Gary Lineker will be a special contributor.
Rebecca Lowe, a fixture on European soccer coverage in Europe, will host a studio show from NBC's international broadcast center in Stamford, Conn. But all game production will be done on-site in England, with NBC using England-based announcers on games White doesn't work.
"They went all in with us," Jon Miller, NBC Sports president of programming, said of the EPL, "and we're all in with them."
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NBC is controlled by Comcast Corp.
