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Premier League on NBC Sports next season


heid3ster

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Because NBC is owned by Comcast (cable company), they've basically said that the whole idea of the deal is to keep people from cancelling cable. So there's basically no chance of them offering any sort of streaming service to those who don't have cable/satellite.

Very grim. Wow. It's hard to believe we're reduced to such a limited option, but I guess that's business.

The illegal streams will still be up for those in Europe. Those might be your best option.

Been there, done that. It's not ideal, but will used if push comes to shove ...

Is there also an online service you can sign up for directly from Aston Villa?

No. The PL negotiates TV rights collectively. NBC has all the rights in the US, so they are the only game in town.

TBH, it would be smart for them to offer a pay for streaming service to non cable subscribers, but, as leviramsey said, they are owned by Comcast and quite intent on keeping cable subscriptions as high as possible.

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The illegal streams will still be up for those in Europe. Those might be your best option.

There'll be fewer of those, also, because the PL is now only showing one match at a time in most of Europe.

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  • 2 weeks later...

A quick neophyte guide to Premier League Saturdays

The Premier League makes its debut on NBC Sports in a little over three weeks, giving fans in the United States an unprecedented amount of access to games from the world’s most popular soccer league. For sports addicts, however, that can be a dangerous thing, with early kickoffs allowing fans to roll out of bed and straight into the peak of another country’s soccer weekend.

There’s a sublime pleasure to starting your sports weekend before people in your life have even considered coffee, but it can also be the start to a full day in your pajamas, with soccer bleeding into college and pro football, bleeding into fall evenings of basketball and hockey. Kiss your wife on the cheek, say goodbye to your children, and get used to ignoring their agape mouths when they comeback from Ice Age 12 to see you’re still on the couch. You’ll be sympathetic at first, but soon you’ll be tired of apologizing for incorporating the Premier League into your weekend ritual.

Don’t worry. We’re here to help. No, we’re not going to help you find a balance. All that’s over. We’re here to help you get the most out of your Premier League weekends; specifically, those Saturday mornings where the league’s early kick offs will really test your commitment.

Heed the following:

DON’T UNDERESTIMATE THAT EARLY KICKOFF

That 7:00 a.m. Eastern start is daunting. That’s what time most Premier League weekends will begin each Saturday, usually with a game that’s worth your time (Aug. 17th’s features Liverpool). While that commitment may seem imposing, there is something mundane about two hours you’ll spent on the quiet of morning watching soccer before the life around you stirs.

But don’t underestimate that commitment. With most big college football games kicking off in the early afternoon (at the earliest), we’re talking about moving your day’s new kickoff up five or six hours – the perfect amount of time to take in the Premier League Saturday before transitioning to your other favorite sports.

If you’re an alarm clock person Monday through Friday, you’ll want extend that routine an extra day. If you’re not an alarm clock person, you might consider the investment.

PREGAME IS NOW PART OF THE PACKAGE

For those familiar that routine, the days of waking up to the teams’ handshakes are over. Early games on NBC Sports Network will be preceded by Premier League Live – a 45-minute pregame show that will lead in each day’s matches. While most early games are going to kickoff closer to 7:45 a.m. Eastern, your weekend starts at the top of the hour.

KEEP SUPPLIES ON HAND

If you need your coffee, have it on the shelf Friday before you go to bed, and if you’re somebody that needs to snack on something through the games, make sure the Captain Crunch is in supply before kickoff. Once the games start, you’re not going to want to venture far from your screen. With Saturdays typically featuring three successive kickoff times (7:45 a.m., 10:00 a.m., 12:30 p.m. Eastern), you’re either going to remember to stock up or become famous at the local pizzeria for being the person who calls at 11:00 a.m. on the nose.

HAVE YOUR LAPTOP, MOBILE DEVICE HANDY

If you get NBCSN at home, you also have access to NBC Sports Live Extra, where games will be streamed live to your desktop, mobile device, or tablet. If somebody’s monopolizing the televisions in your house, you’ll still have a way to catch games, and if you’re lucky enough to have your set tuned to NBC or NBC Sports Network, your laptop or tablet becomes a great way to check for stats and updates at NBCSports.com or keep track of the conversation at ProSoccerTalk.

But don’t underestimate the power of soccer and social media. Twitter, in particular, has a dense and ardent soccer community. For U.S.-based fans often watching in that morning’s peace, Twitter becomes a great way to connect (and complain) with others.

THOSE COMPUTERS WILL COME IN HANDY AT 10 A.M. EASTERN

Enjoy that 7:45 a.m. game and the luxury of watching one game at a time, because the next kickoff time (10:00 a.m.) will feel like watching the early NFL kickoffs. On a typical Saturday, you’ll get five or six games starting at the same time, leaving you monitoring NBCSports.com to keep track of the latest goals, cards, and controversies.

So keep that laptop or tablet handy, because whatever games aren’t available on NBC Sports Network, you’ll be able to stream via NBC Sports Live Extra. If your game looks like it’s over, you can jump to another spot in the league to see England’s evening games wind down.

SWITCH TO NBC FOR THE MAIN EVENT

Most Saturdays, the day’s final match will be featured on NBC – big, national broadcast, over-air NBC. On the season’s first weekend, that means defending champions Manchester United will kickoff at 12:30 p.m. Eastern against Swansea City. In the weeks that follow, Everton-Chelsea, Swansea-Arsenal, Arsenal-Liverpool, and Manchester City-Tottenham will get that regular, prime spot on NBC.

AND BACK TO NBC SPORTS NETWORK FOR THE POSTGAME SHOW

After each day’s matches, Premier League Live will wrap up the action from NBC’s International Broadcast Center in Stamford, Conn., part of the over 600 hours of studio programming set to augment the network’s live coverage. That total includes Match of the Day – a two-hour highlights show modeled after the BBC program of the same name, set to air after Saturdays’ games.

RECHARGE, RESET

Premier League addicts are going to get a full Saturday worth of programming, every Saturday. And for those who will incorporate Premier League soccer into their existing rituals, NBC’s offering a full day’s worth of action to fill that morning void before you favorite sports start.

But regardless of how much you take in, there’s always Sunday, were the league typically allocates two high profile games. And in the soccer world, Monday Night football’s also a thing.

And no matter who much Premier League you take in each weekend, Saturdays take a little getting used to. As well as some preparation.

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Premier League Club Selection Show

Thursday, 8 August, 730pm ET on NBCSN with rebroadcasts over the next few days, including on NBC on Sunday 11 August at 5pm

I'd be very interested to see what exactly this is. I'm betting 30 minutes going through why you should support Man City, Man Utd, Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal, or Spurs, followed by 15 minutes of why you should support anybody else.

Premier League Countdown

Thursday, 8 August, 830pm ET on NBCSN; Sunday, 11 August, 4pm ET on NBC

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Fox Soccer News will be rebranded Fox Soccer Daily and run from 4:00-4:30 ET, except when pre-empted by Champions League or Europa League games on Fox Sports 1. They seem to be hinting that they've got a deal now with NBC for Premier League highlights.

No word on whether that deal would allow for a return of SSN... that said, might Fox Sports 1 see fit to simulcast Soccer Saturday (which doesn't have pictures of the games and thus would not conflict with NBC's rights), though with NBC making basically every game available live, there's no reason for anybody to watch Soccer Saturday...

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I answered:

Favorite big cat? Lion

Favorite band? Black Sabbath

Favorite Bond type? Timothy Dalton

Favorite movie genre? Action

When your team scores? Jump up and down

And lo and behold, I did get it to recommend Villa... an earlier set of answers to a slightly different set of questions recommended Spurs.

"My NBC Sports Pick-a-side app said be a Spurs fan..."

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Commentary details:

Lead play-by-play voice Arlo White joins former Premier League star and four-time league champion Lee Dixon to call the 12:30 PM ET Saturday matches on NBC in the first three weeks – Swansea-Manchester United on Aug. 17; Aston Villa-Liverpool on Aug. 24; and Crystal Palace-Sunderland on Aug. 31.

Arlo White teams with Graeme Le Saux, the former Premier League star who played in 36 international matches for England, to call two Sunday matches and one Monday game on NBC Sports Network in the first three weeks – Chelsea-Hull City at 11:00 AM ET on Sunday, Aug. 18; Manchester United-Chelsea at 3:00 PM ET on Monday, Aug. 26; and Liverpool-Manchester United at 8:30 AM ET on Sunday, Sept. 1. Legendary footballer and presenter Gary Lineker will serve as a special contributor to NBC Sports Group’s Premier League coverage.

All matches will be preceded and followed by Premier League Live pre- and post-match shows from the NBC Sports Group International Broadcast Center in Stamford, Conn. Rebecca Lowe hosts Premier League Livealongside former Jamaican National Team player Robbie Earle, former U.S. National Team midfielder Kyle Martino, and former English footballer Robbie Mustoe.

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NBC's quality thus far has been way ahead of Fox's. Rebecca Lowe is a huge improvement over the previous host for Fox's studio coverage.

And Benteke is included in the coverage bumper (with no sign of Bale).

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Even if they are using Heil journos, that NBC is springing for transatlantic satellite/fiber space to interview UK journos from London is another aspect that NBC has improved on from Fox.

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Unlike Premier League World (who picked Van Persie's goal against us as the goal of the season), NBC's Premier League Countdown show picked Lowton's against Stoke as the goal of last season.

So far we're holding our own in terms of being shown, which is kind of surprising.

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