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PREMIER LEAGUE ENJOYS ITS MOST-WATCHED MONTH IN U.S. HISTORY IN FEBRUARY ON NETWORKS OF NBCUNIVERSAL
Sochi Winter Games Lead-Ins & Promotion Result In 76% Viewership Increase from Best Month Prior to NBC Sports Group's Premier League Debut
February Marks Two Consecutive U.S. Monthly Viewership Records for Premier League
Premier League Tripleheader Saturday on NBCSN Begins at 7 a.m. ET & Features Chelsea v. Tottenham at 12:30 p.m. ET
All Matches Available on NBC Sports Live Extra
Stamford, Conn. - March 3, 2014 - Bolstered by lead-ins from the Sochi Olympics as well as heavy promotion within Winter Games coverage, live game telecasts of the Premier League on the networks of NBCUniversal posted the league's best-ever monthly audience in the U.S. in February. The 17 Premier League matches on NBC, NBCSN and USA Network averaged 609,000 viewers - a 76% jump from the league's best U.S. month prior to NBC Sports Group's August 2013 debut of Premier League coverage (346,000 in Sept. 2011 for 12 matches on Fox/Fox Soccer and ESPN2).
In addition, the February viewership marks the second consecutive U.S. record monthly viewership for the Premier League, following the prior mark of 492,000 viewers for 14 Premier League telecasts on NBC and NBCSN in January.
NBC posted its best monthly Premier League average with 1.1 million February viewers while NBCSN also set a monthly mark with an average of 508,000 Premier League viewers in February.
TRIPLEHEADER ON NBCSN BEGINS AT 7 A.M. ET ON SATURDAY
NBC Sports Group continues its coverage of the Premier League with a tripleheader on NBCSN beginning at 7 a.m. ET on Saturday with Premier League Live. Coverage is highlighted by a top-tier Premier League match at 12:30 p.m. ET featuring league leaders Chelsea hosting fifth-place Tottenham Hotspur. Chelsea look to extend their 13-match Premier League unbeaten streak.
NBCSN also presents West Bromwich Albion v. seventh-place Manchester United at 7:45 a.m. ET followed by Cardiff City v. Fulham at 10 a.m. ET. In addition, NBCSN presents the Major League Soccer season opener featuring Seattle Sounders FC against defending MLS Cup Champion Sporting Kansas City at 3 p.m. ET.
All matches not on NBCSN in the 10 a.m. ET Saturday window will be available on Premier League Extra Time, a bonus television package available to MVPDs at no extra cost for customers who receive NBCSN.
The interactive Premier League Game Finder can be accessed at http://www.nbcsports.com/ExtraTime.
Lead play-by-play voice Arlo White joins former Chelsea defender Graeme Le Saux on the call of Chelsea v. Tottenham on Saturday.
All matches will be preceded and followed by Premier League Live pre- and post-match shows from the NBC Sports Group International Broadcast Center in Stamford, Conn., anchored by Rebecca Lowe, who returns from hosting Olympic coverage. Lowe hosts Premier League Live alongside former English footballer Robbie Mustoe and former Jamaican National Team player Robbie Earle.
All Premier League games will be streamed on NBC Sports Live Extra, NBC Sports Group's live streaming product for desktops, mobile devices and tablets. Games airing on NBC Sports Network will be live streamed via "TV Everywhere," the media industry's effort to make quality content available to MVPD customers both in and out of the home and on multiple platforms.
To date, AT&T U-verse(R), Bright House Networks, Cablevision's Optimum, Comcast's Xfinity TV, Cox, DIRECTV, Mediacom, Suddenlink, and Time Warner Cable have opted to carry the additional Premier League matches via the Premier League Extra Time package, and AT&T U-verse, Cablevision's Optimum, Charter, Comcast's Xfinity TV, Cox, DIRECTV, DISH, Suddenlink and Verizon FiOS will make all Premier League games available through TV Everywhere. Additionally, over 100 NCTC partners 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.
Below is the schedule for the 29th week of the Premier League season (all times ET):
Date Time Home v. Away Network
Mon., Mar. 3 11 p.m. Barclays Premier League Review NBCSN
Tues., Mar. 4 12 a.m. Premier League Encore: Manchester Monday NBCSN
Wed., Mar. 5 12 a.m. Premier League Encore NBCSN
Fri., Mar. 7 7 a.m. Barclays Premier League News NBCSN
Fri., Mar. 7 7:30 a.m. Barclays Premier League World NBCSN
Fri., Mar. 7 8 a.m. Barclays Premier League Match Pack NBCSN
Sat., Mar. 8 6:30 a.m. Barclays Premier League Preview NBCSN
Sat., Mar. 8 7 a.m. Premier League Live NBCSN
Sat., Mar. 8 7:45 a.m. West Bromwich Albion v. Manchester United NBCSN, mun2
Sat., Mar. 8 9:45 a.m. Premier League Live NBCSN
Sat., Mar. 8 10 a.m. Cardiff City v. Fulham NBCSN
Sat., Mar. 8 10 a.m. Crystal Palace v. Southampton Extra Time
Sat., Mar. 8 10 a.m. Norwich City v. Stoke City Extra Time
Sat., Mar. 8 Noon Premier League Live NBCSN
Sat., Mar. 8 12:30 p.m. Chelsea v. Tottenham Hotspur NBCSN
Sat., Mar. 8 2:30 p.m. Goal Zone NBCSN
Sat., Mar. 8 3 p.m. MLS: Seattle Sounders FC v. Sporting KC NBCSN
Sat., Mar. 8 11 p.m. NBCSN's Match of the Day NBCSN
NBC Sports Group presents the most ambitious, extensive and comprehensive coverage of the Premier League available anywhere in the world with all 380 Premier League matches available live in the United States on the networks of NBCUniversal, on the Premier League Extra Time bonus TV package, and streamed live on NBC Sports Live Extra. In total, NBC Sports Group will present more than 1,600 hours of Premier League programming.
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