NBCUniversal Acquires Exclusive U.S. Media Rights to Premier League

NBCUniversal, via the NBC Sports Group, has acquired the exclusive U.S. media rights to the Premier League through a multi-year agreement that begins with the 2013-14 season, both parties announced today. Per the agreement, NBCUniversal becomes the exclusive English- and Spanish-language media rightsholder to all 380 Premier League matches across all platforms and devices in the United States.

“The Barclays Premier League is the preeminent soccer league in the world, and is on the cusp of exponential popularity growth here in the U.S.,” said Mark Lazarus, Chairman, NBC Sports Group. “NBCU will provide the broadest programming and promotional commitment that the league has ever experienced here in the United States. The Premier League provides NBCU with best-in-class content for 10 months of the year across our far-reaching broadcast, cable and digital platforms. This is a perfect match.”

“The NBC Sports Group has an excellent track record in sports broadcasting and will showcase the Barclays Premier League to fans across the USA through its extensive network of channels and high quality production,” said Premier League Chief Executive, Richard Scudamore. “We are extremely pleased that NBC has chosen to invest in the Premier League and look forward to working with them for many years to come.”

Each of the 20 Premier League teams plays 38 matches over a 41-week period from August to May. Although specific programming details will be announced at a later date, NBC, NBC Sports Network, and NBCSports.com will all be utilized to present live Premier League coverage, as well as Telemundo and mun2 for Spanish-language coverage. Additional NBCUniversal platforms and networks will occasionally be scheduled to air Premier League matches, while NBC Sports Live Extra will provide the live streaming platform across Web, tablet, and mobile devices.

The NBC Sports Group will also produce comprehensive shoulder programming around its live-event coverage of the Premier League, including pre- and post-match shows, as well as highlight and weekly wrap-up programs. It is also developing a package to make sure the most avid fans have access to every Premier League match.

TSN Nabs Canadian Rights
TSN also announced it has reached an agreement with the Premier League, securing media rights to a comprehensive soccer package over the next three seasons.

Beginning in the 2013-14 season, the agreement gives TSN and French-language broadcaster RDS media rights to half of all Barclays Premier League games through to the 2015-2016 season – approximately 190 games per season – more than tripling its current Barclays Premier League package up from 50 games per season.

Games will be broadcast across TSN’s industry-leading platforms including TSN, TSN2, TSN.ca and TSN Mobile TV.

The acquisition is the latest major soccer broadcast property acquired by TSN – which is the national broadcaster of Major League Soccer (MLS), the Canadian home of EURO 2016, and  the rights holder for the FIFA World Cup™ Soccer Package from 2015 to 2022, including the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Canada.

“The Premier League is home to the world’s most popular teams and biggest stars in soccer. With a dedicated and growing fan base in Canada we are looking forward to giving fans even more Premier League coverage with more games on TSN than ever before,” said Shawn Redmond, Vice-President of Programming, TSN.  “The Barclays Premier League package is a perfect complement to our slate of world-class soccer programming.”