Soccer on NBC Sports
{{Short description|Presentations of soccer by NBC}}
{{Infobox television
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| genre = Soccer telecasts
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| country = United States
| language = English
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| camera = Multi-camera
| runtime = 3+ hours (or until game ends)
| company = NBC Sports
| network = NBC
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Soccer on NBC Sports is a number of television programs that have aired soccer matches in the United States on NBC and NBCSN. These matches are from International, European, and American competitions. On August 10, 2011, NBC Sports announced a new three-year broadcasting contract with Major League Soccer to produce games for the 2012 season on NBC and the NBC Sports Network. This included the broadcast of two regular season games, two playoff games, and two national team matches on NBC and 38 regular season games, three playoff games, and two national team matches on NBC Sports Network.{{cite news|title=MLS and NBC Sports announce new TV deal|url=http://goal.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/08/10/m-l-s-and-nbc-sports-announce-new-tv-deal/|newspaper=The New York Times (Goal Blogs)|date=August 10, 2011|access-date=August 10, 2011}} On October 28, 2012, NBC Sports also announced a three-year, $250 million deal to televise Premier League soccer in English (primarily on NBCSN) and Spanish (on Telemundo and mun2) beginning with the 2013–14 season, replacing ESPN and Fox Soccer as the league's U.S. broadcasters.{{cite news|title=NBC wins $250m rights to broadcast English Premier League in US|url=https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2012/oct/29/nbc-250m-english-premier-league-epl-broadcast-us?newsfeed=true|agency=Associated Press |newspaper=The Guardian|location=London|date=October 29, 2012|access-date=October 29, 2012}}
FIFA World Cup
{{main|FIFA World Cup on NBC}}
The first American coverage{{cite web |url=https://www.radiodiscussions.com/showthread.php?472816-World-Cup-broadcasting-history-in-the-U-S|title=World Cup broadcasting history in the U.S.|date=May 24, 2006|website=Radio Discussions}} of the World Cup consisted only of a previously filmed telecast of the 1966 Final on NBC.{{cite book |last=Palme|first=Max|title=The Heroes of World Cup 1966|date=3 March 2014 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HLMEAwAAQBAJ&q=1966+World+Cup+on+NBC&pg=PA197|publisher=AuthorHouse|page=197|isbn=9781491893197 }}{{cite book |last=Tennent, Gillett|first=Kevin D., Alex G.|title=Foundations of Managing Sporting Events: Organising the 1966 FIFA World Cup|date=5 August 2016 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kdjLDAAAQBAJ&q=1966+FIFA+World+Cup+on+NBC&pg=PA135|publisher=Routledge|page=135|isbn=9781317240600 }}{{cite web |url=http://www.yanksarecoming.com/tv-and-the-growth-of-us-soccer|title=TV And The Growth Of US Soccer|last=Clary|first=Jamie|date=June 21, 2010|website=The Yanks Are Coming}} The Final was aired before their coverage of the Saturday Major League Baseball Game of the Week. NBC used the black & white BBC feed and aired it on a two-hour film delay. This was the first time soccer had been shown in the United States as a stand-alone broadcast.
1986 marked the first time that the World Cup had extensive live cable and network television coverage in the United States. ESPN carried most of the weekday matches while NBC{{cite news |last=Fleenor|first=David|date=October 21, 2015|title=MARTY MCFLY…WTF?|url=http://www.soccer365.com/marty-mcflywtf/|work=Soccer365}} did weekend games. To be more specific, NBC aired seven{{cite news |last=Jones|first=Grahame L.|date=May 25, 1986|title=THE WORLD CUP : With the Start Six Days Away in Mexico, Emotions and Hype, but Not Pele, Prevail|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1986-05-25-sp-7175-story.html|work=Los Angeles Times}}{{cite news |last=White|first=Russ|date=June 13, 1986|title=SIN'S WORLD CUP IS RUNNING OVER|url=https://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/os-xpm-1986-06-13-0230110200-story.html|work=Orlando Sentinel}} matches, including the "Hand of God" quarterfinal, with broadcasters on-site. NBC's theme music{{cite web |url=https://www.gamesbids.com/forums/topic/23932-past-olympics-media-coverage/page/2/|title=Past Olympics Media Coverage|date=October 24, 2014|website=GameBids.com}} for their 1986 coverage was Herb Alpert's{{cite web |url=https://worldsoccertalk.com/2016/08/01/brief-history-world-cup-european-championship-copa-america-us-tv/2/|title=A brief history of the World Cup, European Championship and Copa America on US TV|last=Gumusyan|first=Aram|date=August 1, 2016|website=World Soccer Talk}} "1980", from his 1979 album Rise.
Major League Soccer
{{main|MLS on NBC}}
On January 5, 2012, NBC Sports signed a three-year contract with Major League Soccer{{cite web |url=http://www.nbcsports.com/our-history#decade_9|title=NBC Sports Group acquires rights to Major League Soccer|website=NBC Sports History Page}} to nationally televise 40 matches per year,{{cite news|title=NBC networks to air 41 regular-season matches in 2012|url=http://www.mlssoccer.com/news/article/2012/01/05/nbc-networks-air-41-regular-season-matches-2012|work=MLSSoccer.com|date=January 5, 2012|access-date=February 22, 2012}} which would primarily air on the NBC Sports Network (now NBCSN), beginning with the 2012 season. All NBC telecasts included pre-game and post-game coverage, with the network intending to promote its games during broadcasts of its other major sports properties, such as the Olympics. More specifically as part of the new deal, NBC would carry three regular season and two playoff matches (the first time since 2002 that that many MLS games were to be broadcast on English-language network television), as well as 38 regular season and three playoff matches on sister channel NBCSN; both networks also aired matches featuring the United States men's national soccer team (with two games airing on each network).
NBC and NBCSN's MLS telecasts during the 2013 season averaged 115,000 viewers per game, a steep drop from 2012. Looking to capitalize on further soccer opportunities, NBC Sports acquired the rights to the Premier League from Fox Soccer in 2012, in time for the 2013–14 Premier League season. Speculation abounded on if MLS was to be treated by the sports division secondarily to the Premier League, which has a greater U.S. audience than the domestic league, placing MLS' future with NBC in doubt.
In 2014, negotiations broke down between NBC and MLS on a new television contract. The league instead signed an agreement with Fox Sports to serve as its U.S. broadcast partner, beginning with the 2015 season in a shared rights deal with ESPN.{{cite web|title=MLS's big play|url=http://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/Journal/Issues/2014/05/12/Media/MLS-TV.aspx|work=SportsBusiness Daily|date=May 12, 2014}}
Premier League
{{main|Premier League on NBC|English_football_on_television#United_States|List_of_Premier_League_broadcasters#North_American_and_Caribbean_broadcasters}}
NBC acquired rights to the Premier League in 2013, replacing Fox Sports and ESPN.{{cite news|title=NBC wins $250m rights to broadcast English Premier League in US|url=https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2012/oct/29/nbc-250m-english-premier-league-epl-broadcast-us?newsfeed=true|agency=Associated Press|access-date=October 29, 2012|location=London|date=October 29, 2012}} NBC's studio programming for the league includes the pre-match show Premier League Live, and the highlights shows Premier League Goal Zone and Match of the Day (modeled upon the similar BBC series).{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2013/apr/16/nbc-premier-league-match-of-the-day|title=Gary Lineker and Match of the Day feature in NBC's Premier League plans|last=Parker|first=Graham|date=2013-04-16|work=The Guardian|access-date=2019-06-30|language=en-GB|issn=0261-3077}} NBC Sports president of programming Jon Miller explained that their main goal was to not "Americanize" their coverage (besides providing explanations of terminology unfamiliar to U.S. viewers, such as derbies), citing their decision to employ talent (such as former ESPN UK and BBC Sport presenter Rebecca Lowe, who became NBC's lead host) who "know the Premier League and can talk about it intelligently".{{Cite web|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/premier-league-how-nbc-sports-690360|title=Premier League: How NBC Sports Got Soccer Fans Out of Bed|website=The Hollywood Reporter|date=26 March 2014 |language=en|access-date=2019-08-13}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/has-nbc-sports-found-secret-618389|title=Has NBC Sports Found the Secret of Selling Soccer to U.S. TV Viewers?|website=The Hollywood Reporter|date=30 August 2013 |language=en|access-date=2019-08-13}} In 2014, NBC also hired the duo of Michael Davies and Roger Bennett—the "Men in Blazers"—to provide soccer-oriented content across NBC Sports' platforms.{{Cite news|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/men-in-blazers-jump-to-nbc-1407714244|title=Men in Blazers Jump to NBC|last=Connors|first=Will|date=2014-08-10|work=Wall Street Journal|access-date=2019-08-17|language=en-US|issn=0099-9660}}
FA Women's Super League
{{Main|FA Women's Super League#Broadcasting}}
In September 2020, NBC agreed to a season-long partnership with ATA Football to broadcast up to 50 FA Women's Super League matches during 2020-21 season. The plan is for 12 matches to be broadcast on NBCSN, while other matches will be available via the NBC Sports website and app.{{Cite web|date=2020-09-02|title=WSL NBC Sports: FA Women's Super League, TV schedule, stream online|url=https://soccer.nbcsports.com/2020/09/02/wsl-nbc-sports-to-show-2020-21-fa-womens-super-league/|access-date=2020-09-13|website=ProSoccerTalk {{!}} NBC Sports|language=en-US}} NBC's coverage ended after the broadcasting rights moved to CBS Sports starting the 2022-23 season.
References
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External links
- {{official website|https://www.nbcsports.com/soccer}}
{{NBC Sports}}
{{Association football on television}}
Category:NBC original programming