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The Premier League (EPL) is the most-watched sports league in the world, with TV audiences of approximately 3.2 billion people across 188 countries. [citation needed] Since its creation in 1992, the Premier League has sold its international broadcasting rights centrally, [citation needed] and this global dominance is also reflected economically.
NBC acquired rights to the Premier League in 2013, replacing Fox Sports and ESPN. [2] 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). [3]
Premier League viewership has increased rapidly, with NBC and NBCSN averaging a record 479,000 viewers in the 2014–15 season, up 118% from 2012–13 when coverage still aired on Fox Soccer and ESPN/ESPN2 (220,000 viewers), [2] and NBC Sports has been widely praised for its coverage.
Affiliates fill time periods not occupied by network programs with local or syndicated programming. PBS – which offers daytime programming through a children's program block, PBS Kids – is not included, as its member television stations have local flexibility over most of their schedules and broadcast times for network shows may vary.
The Premier League is particularly popular in Asia, where it is the most widely distributed sports programme. [38] In India, the matches are broadcast live on Star Sports. Premier League broadcasts began in India in August 1996. Liverpool's 2–0 victory over Arsenal was the first Monday night game broadcast. [39]
USFL on ESPN: ESPN 1983–1985: Broadcast games in primetime on Saturdays and Mondays. ESPN offered to broadcast a 22-game slate in 1986, but the league suspended operations instead. The league ultimately ceased to exist. [183] [184] [185] XFL: XFL on ESPN: ABC ESPN ESPN2 FX 2020, 2023: League suspended operations for two years.
ESPN aired MLS matches on ABC, ESPN, ESPN+ and ESPN2 from the league's beginning in 1996 until 2022. ABC aired select MLS games on Saturday and Sunday during the regular season, select playoff games annually, and the MLS Cup in odd-numbered years in 2019 and 2021. ESPN also aired out-of-market / some market games on ESPN+.
ESPN offered a number of free periods, ranging between a weekend and a month. [35] [36] In February 2012 a free weekend covered a Premier League match between Manchester City and Fulham, marking the first time that a Premier League fixture had been broadcast free-to-air in the UK. [37] During the same weekend the channel was also available on ...