EPL Exposure in the US

[loneranger158]

What do you think of all of the new exposure of EPL on NBC Sports? NBCSN has close to 10 specials airing leading up to the start of the season. Is it fair that a British league is getting more attention than an American league in America? What is the future of EPL on ESPN since NBC has more coverage outside of live games?

[RyanMcD29]

The EPL on ESPN? Nil because NBC's got exclusive rights. I will say, however, that apparently I read somewhere that NBC has some technical partnership with BT Sport so it might not be the end of Ian Darke calling games here in the states just yet, albeit by NBC taking a British feed. But yeah, aside from the ESPN FC show on ESPN2's weekday block, you're not getting any more EPL coverage out of ESPN in terms of live games.

[Gothamite]

I took the OP as asking if NBC's game coverage will lead ESPN to increase their highlights etc, since the league will have increased visibility in the US.

Or, they could go on largely ignoring it, since they don't have a stake in it.

Don't know. Should be interesting.

[dfwabel]

Only the Sunday ESPNFC show will be one hour; the rest of the week is just a 30-minute show. Having the Sunday show at midnight might be the concession to NBC which will allow them to show highlights, since NBC has been showing them all day.

Note, when ESPN canceled "RPM 2Night"in 2003, it was due to fact that highlights could only be shown on SportsCenter and ESPNEWS. So highlights will be at the whim of NBC and how much they want to grant to either ESPN or FS1.

When weekly programming for a 30-minute show includes the following, highlights might be minimial for the many leagues.

• Americans Abroad (Monday) – In-depth analysis by Taylor Twellman on how U.S. Men’s National Team players are doing at their respective professional clubs abroad, including interviews with key players throughout the season following weekend games.
• EPL Team of the Week (Monday) – Each week, an ESPN FC panel of four pundits will pick a team as the top Premier League club of the week based on its performance from the weekend’s match days. The show will discuss the pick and the team.
• Bloopers with Tommy Smyth (Tuesday) – Every Tuesday, Tommy Smyth will take a lighthearted look at some of the abnormal events, highlights and news in world football.
• Shaka Hislop’s Power Rankings (Thursday) – Former Trinidad & Tobago National Team and 2006 FIFA World Cup goalkeeper Shaka Hislop picks his top-10 clubs in world football, and the panel will debate his choices.
• EPL Weekend Previews (Friday) – Roger Bennett, ESPNFC.com columnist and co-host of Grantland’s “Men In Blazers” podcast, takes a unique look at the Premier League’s weekend fixture including some of the history behind select matchups and rivalries.