One of the more popular soccer leagues in the United States will have its television deal up after the 2021-2022 season, and NBC is determined to hold on to its Premier League rights.
Discussions will heat up over the next several months as the network nears the end of its six-year deal worth $1 billion in May of 2022.
Over the last number of years, the network has brought English soccer to an American audience and seen the sport grow into a must-watch property for younger fans. Furthermore, NBC wants to continue to be the flagship station for the most popular league in the world.
Despite the top six English clubs involving themselves in the European Super League plan, there will be a high demand for the league from United States based-networks.
With NBC Sports Network set to go dark by year’s end, it is possible that money alone won’t be enough to keep the Premier League in house. League officials will likely want to know how many games will end up on network or cable television as opposed to being available exclusively as a streaming option on Peacock.
“We certainly want to continue our great relationship with the Premier League,” an NBC spokesperson stated to Front Office Sports.
NBC will face competition with CBS, and ESPN is poised to make offers for the Premier League as both networks would like to add English soccer to their streaming services.
Eduardo Razo is the Assistant Content Editor for BNM, which includes writing daily news stories on the news media industry. He can be found on Twitter @eddierazo_ or you can reach him by email at eddie1991razo@gmail.com.
