NBC Sports To Launch 'Premier League Pass' OTT Service

NBC Sports will offer a direct-to-consumer live streaming subscription package of Premier League soccer games that won't air on its linear TV channels, according to company officials.

NBC Sports Gold’s $49.99 Premier League Pass service will offer 130 live matches as well as Premier League shoulder programming to U.S. consumers beginning with the launch of the league’s 2017-18 season this August.

As part of the package, at least three matches per Premier League club will be available as a live stream. In addition, subscribers can access replays of most matches  as well as Premier League and NBC Sports original content, studio shows and highlight clips.

The direct-to-consumer service, powered by Playmaker Media, will stream coverage live and on-demand via desktop, mobile, tablets, and connected TV devices, said NBC Sports. 

The Premier League Pass will not take any games from linear TV coverage of the Premier League: NBC Sports Group will continue to offer up to 250 Premier League matches --including at least one match in each Premier League match time window -- across NBC, NBCSN, and CNBC, as well as online on NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app for mobile, tablets and connected TV devices.

“We are excited to broaden our offerings for passionate Premier League fans, featuring more content than ever at their fingertips, with approximately 20 weekly hours of live matches, studio shows, highlights, and replays,” said Rick Cordella, executive vice president and General Manager for Digital Media, NBC Sports Group in a statement. “NBC Sports Gold has experienced tremendous growth since its launch last year and we look forward to providing Premier League viewers with this rich content-fueled experience.”

R. Thomas Umstead

R. Thomas Umstead serves as senior content producer, programming for Multichannel News, Broadcasting + Cable and Next TV. During his more than 30-year career as a print and online journalist, Umstead has written articles on a variety of subjects ranging from TV technology, marketing and sports production to content distribution and development. He has provided expert commentary on television issues and trends for such TV, print, radio and streaming outlets as Fox News, CNBC, the Today show, USA Today, The New York Times and National Public Radio. Umstead has also filmed, produced and edited more than 100 original video interviews, profiles and news reports featuring key cable television executives as well as entertainers and celebrity personalities.