ThePremier League on NBC/Peacock is the blanket title for broadcasts of thePremier League byPeacock and the linear networks ofNBC Sports. NBC acquired rights to the Premier League in 2013, and reached a six-year extension in 2015.[1] In 2022,USA Network replacedNBCSN—which shut down on December 31, 2021—as the main cable broadcaster of the league.
NBC acquired rights to the Premier League in 2013, replacingFox Sports andESPN.[2] NBC's studio programming for the league includes the pre-match showPremier League Live, and the highlights showsPremier League Goal Zone andMatch of the Day (modeled uponthe similar BBC series).[3] NBC Sports president of programmingJon Miller explained that their main goal was to not "Americanize" their coverage (besides providing explanations of terminology unfamiliar to U.S. viewers, such as referring to regional rivalries as "derbies"), citing their decision to employ talent (such as formerESPN UK andBBC Sport presenterRebecca Lowe, who became NBC's lead host) who "know the Premier League and can talk about it intelligently".[4][5] In 2014, NBC also hired the duo ofMichael Davies andRoger Bennett—the "Men in Blazers"—to provide soccer-oriented content across NBC Sports' platforms.[6]
Through the2016–17 season, NBCSN operated pop-up channels branded asPremier League Extra Time, which aired overflow matches not shown by other NBC networks.[7] Beginning with the2017–18 season, NBC began topaywall many of these overflow games behind the "Premier League Pass" streaming service onNBC Sports Gold.[8]
OnChampionship Sunday, the majority ofNBCUniversal's cable networks carry games, including several networks not normally dedicated to sports. In 2023, NBC itself did not carry a Championship Sunday game for the first time in package history due to the Indianapolis 500 pre-race show. This issue will no longer impact NBC as they lost the rights to airing IndyCar Series races from 2025 onwards.[9]
In 2019,NBCUniversal parent companyComcast acquired the British telecom and media conglomerateSky plc. As a result, the NBC Sports division became a sibling toSky Sports, a domestic rightsholder of the Premier League in the UK. Sky began to synergize with NBC Sports throughout 2019, beginning with a collaboration with its reporters for coverage of thetransfer deadline, and adding a weekday simulcast from itsSky Sports News channel to the daytime lineup of NBCSN.[10][11]
On-air collaboration with Sky Sports intensified with the beginning of the2019–20 season; as Sky holds the first pick of matches for 12:30 p.m. (Eastern Time) kickoffs under its renewed contract, NBC will be able to air more prominent matches in its early-afternoon broadcasts. NBC also aired studio coverage of the first weekend of the season from Sky's studios, implemented a new on-air graphics package with elements of those used by Sky and its Premier League telecasts, and expanded its Sunday pre-match show to two hours (taking advantage of Sunday kickoffs being pushed later by half an hour).[12] Sky Sports studio programming (includingSoccer Saturday andGoals on Sunday among others) also became available on a secondary tier of Premier League Pass.[13]
On July 9, 2020, NBC announced that Premier League Pass would be phased out, with its content (including non-televised matches and on-demand replays) being moved toPeacock Premium going forward, including 175 matches per-season.[14] To mark the national launch of Peacock, all July 15, 2020, matches were carried exclusively by the service for free.[15][16]
In July 2021, NBC announced that all matches on the NBC broadcast network will be simulcast on Peacock, and that noted Spanish football voiceAndrés Cantor will call selected matches in English for NBC.[17]
When the contract went up for renewal in 2021, the Premier League split its U.S. media rights into four packages (as it does with its domestic rights) to pursue the possibility of multiple broadcasters.[18] On November 18, 2021, NBC Sports confirmed that it had reached a six-year extension of its exclusive rights to the Premier League through 2028. With NBCSN being discontinued at the end of 2021,USA Network would subsume its role as the main English-language cable outlet for NBC Sports' coverage.[19] Ahead of the 2022-23 season, various reports said NBC appointedPeter Drury as the Premier League lead commentator to replaceArlo White, who filled the position for nine years. His position was confirmed on July 6, 2022.[20][21]
On 18 June 2023, it was announced that Drury would join Sky Sports, doing one game a week on Sunday, Monday, or midweek.[22] Soon, NBC hiredJon Champion to replace Drury for these match days, with Drury continuing that role for Saturday 12:30 pm ET games.[23][24][25]
