With kickoff of its inaugural year of coverage just nine days away, NBC Sports Group continues to round out its distribution roster for its ad hoc channel and TV Everywhere rosters for England’s Premier League.
Time Warner Cable, Cox, Bright House Networks and Mediacom have agreed to open up capacity for NBC Sports Group’s Premier League Extra Time package, comprising a series of ad hoc channels, a la out-of-market sports services -- that MPVDs will offer free of charge to NBC Sports Network subscribers. Premier League Extra Time, beginning on the English circuit’s opening day Aug. 17, largely serves the 10 a.m.-noon (ET) window on Saturdays, when as many as five matches are played simultaneously. NBC Sports Network and mun2 will typically present one of the five games in that busy window.
The aforementioned quartet of distributors join AT&T U-verse, Cablevision’s Optimum, Comcast’s Xfinity TV, DirecTV, Dish Network and Suddenlink in offering the Premier League Extra Time package.
Cox has also come on board as a partner to streaming service, NBC Sports Live Extra, which makes all Premier League matches available on computer, tablet and mobile to authenticated video subscribers to NBC Sports Network. The Atlanta-headquartered MSO joins AT&T U-verse, Cablevision’s Optimum, Charter, Comcast’s Xfinity TV,DirecTV, Dish, Suddenlink and Verizon FiOS in making all Premier League games available through TV Everywhere. Offering the complete 380-match Premier League schedule on an authenticated basis was an accelerant in the DBS providers signing on as NBC Sports Network TV Everywhere providers, according to the programmer.
Additionally, over 100 members of the National Cable Television Cooperative have either signed-on to the Premier League Extra Time package or have opted-in via TV Everywhere, including Blue Ridge Communications, Buckeye CableSystem, CenturyLink Prism, and RCN.
In some cases, the Premier League Extra Time package will be available in select markets.
After NBC Sports Network televises the first game of the 2013-14 campaign with Liverpool hosting Stoke at Anfield at 7:45 a.m. (ET) on Aug. 17, five matches will follow at 10 a.m., with the national cable network and mun2 televising Arsenal–Aston Villa at 10 a.m. The other four matches at that time – Norwich-Everton, Sunderland-Fulham, West Ham-Cardiff and West Brom-Southampton – will appear on Premier League Extra Time channels.
The following is a complete listing for NBC Sports Group’s coverage of the first three week of the Premier League schedule:
