With the NFL season here at last, a large percentage of Americans will be glued to TVs as they take in four months of football. However, there’s already another football that’s taken over the airwaves: soccer.
In reality, there’s very little downtime for Americans in terms of soccer coverage. The typical European league season, such as those in England or Spain, runs from August to May. Our own domestic league, Major League Soccer, lasts from March to November, creating some interesting overlap. Plus, there’s usually a host of international team matches thrown into the mix.
The biggest takeaway from this is the rapid growth of TV exposure for the world’s most popular sport. Soccer has struggled to gain a foothold in the American household, but this season marks a huge starting block to really kickstart the game’s growth.
One of the largest factors in this development is the acquisition of TV rights to England’s Premier League by NBC. The company beat out Fox — which had shown a couple of games per week on its Fox Soccer Channel — and ESPN in a big-money scramble for the lucrative rights.
NBC wasted no time getting itself situated in the market, already boasting the ability to show all 10 weekly Premier League matches on television and online. This is done through the NBC Sports Network, the main NBC channel and what’s called “Extra Time,” which skips the studio at halftime in favor of match stats and highlights to keep viewers engaged.
Also, there’s a spectacular web-streaming feature called “Live Extra,” which allows viewers to stream any of the games on the schedule by simply signing in with a TV provider. It’s a high-quality product that’s accessible to anyone who wants to use it.
NBC has also set a high bar in terms of their on-air talent. Arlo White is the primary play-by-play man; MLS fans will recognize him as NBC’s lead voice here in the states over the last couple of years. He is joined in the booth by former England internationals Graeme Le Saux and Lee Dixon, as well as England and Barcelona star Gary Lineker as a contributor.
These are some big names, and their experience does not go unrecognized. They provide shrewd commentary, as well as detailed analyses of the action from all different perspectives. The result is an optimal viewing experience, leading the audience to come back more and more — which, inevitably, is the goal.
The Premier League is the most popular league in the world’s most popular sport. As such, it should garner worldwide attention and top-class TV coverage. Here in the U.S., NBC has done just that with their newly acquired rights.
By showing every game each week with great attention to detail in its analysts’ work, they provide a perfect foundation for new soccer fans to get acquainted with “the beautiful game.”
