Premier League, NBC Agree to 6-Year Contract Extension for USA TV Rights

NBC Sports Group will continue as the sole broadcaster of Premier League football in the United States for the next six years, having agreed to an extension to their current deal.  

News of the agreement was reported by Nate Scott of For the Win, who included the following statement from NBC Sports Group Chairman Mark Lazarus in his piece:

"

We are excited to continue our tremendous partnership with the Premier League, and we look forward to presenting the world’s finest soccer league to Americans for many years to come.

As sports fans, there’s nothing better than waking up on a weekend morning to live and relevant events, and we at NBC Sports are thrilled to continue to be this outlet for the fast-growing Premier League fan base.

"

Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images

Also included was a line from the Premier League’s chief executive Richard Scudamore, who revealed they were delighted with quality of the broadcast of English football’s top flight across the pond: “NBC Sports has done a fantastic job broadcasting the Barclays Premier League for the last two seasons and we are extremely pleased that they have invested in our U.S. rights for seasons 2016-17 to 2021-22.”

As Andrew Das of the New York Times notes, it’s an announcement which has been met with an unusually unanimous positive reaction from supporters:

As noted by Christopher Harris of World Soccer Talk, an “alliance” of broadcasters—including Fox Sports, ESPN and Univision—reportedly launched a bid to wrestle the rights away from NBC, but the current home of Premier League football in the United States won through after a second round of bidding.

It’s easy to see why so many are so pleased with this outcome. NBC have worked meticulously to provide American fans of the Premier League with a slick product, including immaculate presentations, professional hosting and improving punditry.

Now, the challenge for the company is to continue to make an already exceptional package even better over the next six seasons.