Starting Saturday, December 21 and running through Wednesday, January 1, NBCSN and its Premier League Extra Time channels will air a whole host of EPL matches. Overall, NBC Sports Group will air a total of 40 live matches over its platforms.
This includes a slew of games from Saturday through Monday highlighted by first-place Arsenal taking on Chelsea. And for the Arsenal vs. Chelsea match on Monday, December 23, NBCSN will utilize BBC Match of the Day host Gary Lineker and Everton/US Men’s National Team goalkeeper Tim Howard for its first-ever live on-site pregame show.
Also, NBC will air NBCSN’s Match of the Day show live on Saturday afternoon at 1:30 p.m. ET. That is a recap of the day’s action. It will air at its regular time on NBCSN at 11 p.m. ET.
NBCSN will also have live coverage of a full EPL schedule on December 26 which is Boxing Day in the UK.
Here’s the press release from NBC Sports Group.
PERFECT FOR THE HOLIDAYS… “THE 12 DAYS OF PREMIER LEAGUE”
40 Matches in 12 Days Begins Saturday, December 21
NBC Sports Group to Present 10 Matches on Boxing Day, 10 Matches on New Year’s Day & More than 157 Hours of Coverage
All Matches Available on NBC Sports Live ExtraStamford, Conn. – December 16, 2013 – NBC Sports Group presents “The 12 Days of Premier League” with 40 matches in 12 days beginning this Saturday, December 21, through New Year’s Day, January 1. Coverage is highlighted by 10 matches on Boxing Day, Thursday, December 26. The 12 days of Premier League kick off with Premier League Live at 7 a.m. ET on Saturday, December 21.
On the “12th Day of Premier League,” NBC Sports Group will present 10 matches New Year’s Day, highlighted by Manchester United hosting Tottenham at 12:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN. New Year’s coverage on NBCSN begins at 7 a.m. ET with Premier League Live, followed by Manchester City v. Swansea City and Southampton v. Chelsea.
Over the 12 days, NBC Sports Group will present more than 157 total hours of Premier League coverage.
Following is a numerical look at “The 12 Days of Premier League”:
12 – Arsenal have sat atop the Premier League table for 12 weeks. They have yet to relinquish the top spot since grabbing the league lead on September 22nd.
11 – Title contenders Manchester City and Liverpool are set to meet at the Etihad on Boxing Day, December 26 at 12:30 p.m. ET. The last three meetings have seen a total of 11 goals scored.
10 – On December 26, better known as “Boxing Day” in the U.K., 10 Premier League matches will be played. Ever since soccer clubs Hallam and Sheffield contested the first inter-club soccer match on December 26, 1860, Boxing Day has grown into one of the highlights of the British sporting year. Soccer on Boxing Day in England pre-dates Thanksgiving football in America by 16 years – Yale and Princeton played the first Thanksgiving Day football game in 1876.
9 – The most goals ever scored by a club in a Premier League match is 9. Manchester United first scored 9 in a 9-0 win against Ipswich Town on March 4, 1995. And 14 years later, Tottenham matched the feat, putting 9 past Wigan in 9-1 victory on November 22, 2009.
8 – Everton, starring USMNT goalkeeper Tim Howard, and West Ham United are tied for a league-high 8 clean sheets (shutouts) so far this season. The 5th-place Toffees have also lost just 1 match, the fewest of any club. Oddly enough, these two clubs sit on opposite sides of the table: Everton are currently in 5th place, while West Ham sit in 17th, just one spot above the relegation zone.
7 – Manchester City tallied the biggest Premier League win of the season when they won by 7 goals (7-0) v. Norwich City on November 2. Man City have also scored a league-leading 47 goals this season.
6 – Jozy Altidore, Geoff Cameron, Brad Friedel, Brad Guzan, Tim Howard and Brek Shea are the 6 Americans to have played in the Premier League this season.
5 – Just 13 seconds into Stoke City’s match v. Southampton on November 2, Stoke GK Asmir Begovic became the 5th goalkeeper in Premier League history to score a goal. Begovic joined an elite club that includes Peter Schmeichel, Brad Friedel, Paul Robinson and Tim Howard.
4 – On December 4, Ryan Giggs became the 4th outfield player in Premier League history to feature in a match in his 40s. The legendary Manchester United midfielder, who turned 40 years old on November 29, holds the all-time record for Premier League appearances (628).
3 – On Monday, December 23rd, Arsenal host London rivals Chelsea. This will be the 3rd league meeting at the Emirates since the Gunners’ last home win versus the Blues, which came just under 3 years ago in a 3-1 victory on December 27, 2010.
2 – Everton and USMNT goalkeeper Tim Howard has joined Arlo White in the booth on 2 occasions already this season. Howard first called Chelsea’s dramatic 2-1 victory over Manchester City on October 27, and again co-commentated the 2-2 draw between Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United on December 1.
1 – Only 1 club in Premier League history, West Bromwich Albion, has ever avoided relegation after sitting in last place on Christmas. In what is known as the “Great Escape,” the Baggies sat in last place on Boxing Day and were still in the basement entering the final day of the 2004-05 season. But a 2-0 win over Portsmouth allowed them to jump three spots into 17th place and avoid the drop to the second tier.
The five additional matches on Saturday, December 21, in the 10 a.m. ET slot; six additional matches on Boxing Day, December 26, in the 10 a.m. ET slot; four additional matches on Saturday, December 28 in the 10 a.m. ET slot; one additional match on Sunday, December 29 in the 8:30 a.m. ET and 11 a.m. ET slot; and seven additional matches on New Year’s Day in the 10 a.m. slot, 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.
In addition, five matches in the 12 days of Premier League will be telecast in Spanish by Telemundo and mun2 (listed in table below).
Lead play-by-play voice Arlo White joins Graeme Le Saux, the former Premier League star who played in 36 international matches for England, on NBCSN to call Southampton v. Tottenham at 8:30 a.m. ET on Sunday, December 22; Arsenal v. Chelsea at 3 p.m. ET on Monday, December 23; Chelsea v. Liverpool on Sunday, December 29 at 11 a.m. ET; and Manchester United v. Tottenham on New Year’s Day at 12:30 p.m. ET. White teams with former Premier League star and four-time league champion Lee Dixon to call Cardiff City v. Sunderland on NBC on Saturday, December 28 at 12:30 p.m. ET.
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. Rebecca Lowe hosts Premier League Live alongside former Jamaican National Team player Robbie Earle, former U.S. National Team midfielder Kyle Martino, and former English footballer Robbie Mustoe.
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®, 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 NBCUniversal schedule for the 12 days of Premier League (all times ET, subject to change):
Date Time Home v. Away Network Mon., Dec. 16 11 p.m. Barclays Premier League Review NBCSN Tues., Dec. 17 12 a.m. Premier League Encore: Manchester Monday NBCSN Tues., Dec. 17 11:30 p.m. Premier League Encore NBCSN Fri., Dec. 20 1 a.m. Barclays Premier League World NBCSN Fri., Dec. 20 1:30 a.m. Barclays Premier League Match Pack NBCSN Fri., Dec. 20 7 a.m. Barclays Premier League News NBCSN Fri., Dec. 20 7:30 p.m. Barclays Premier League Preview NBCSN Sat., Dec. 21 7 a.m. Premier League Live NBCSN Sat., Dec. 21 7:45 a.m. Liverpool v. Cardiff City NBCSN, mun2 Sat., Dec. 21 9:45 a.m. Premier League Live NBCSN Sat., Dec. 21 10 a.m. Fulham v. Manchester City NBCSN, mun2 Sat., Dec. 21 10 a.m. Manchester United v. West Ham United Extra Time Sat., Dec. 21 10 a.m. Crystal Palace v. Newcastle United Extra Time Sat., Dec. 21 10 a.m. Stoke City v. Aston Villa Extra Time Sat., Dec. 21 10 a.m. West Bromwich Albion v. Hull City Extra Time Sat., Dec. 21 10 a.m. Sunderland v. Norwich City Extra Time Sat., Dec. 21 11 p.m. NBCSN’s Match of the Day NBCSN Sun., Dec. 22 8 a.m. Premier League Live NBCSN Sun., Dec. 22 8:30 a.m. Southampton v. Tottenham Hotspur NBCSN Sun., Dec. 22 10:30 a.m. Premier League Live NBCSN Sun., Dec. 22 11 a.m. Swansea City v. Everton NBCSN Sun., Dec. 22 1 p.m. Premier League Goal Zone NBCSN Sun., Dec. 22 11 p.m. NBCSN’s Match of the Day II NBCSN Mon., Dec. 23 2 p.m. Premier League Live NBCSN Mon., Dec. 23 3 p.m. Arsenal v. Chelsea NBCSN Mon., Dec. 23 5 p.m. Premier League Goal Zone NBCSN Mon., Dec. 23 10:30 p.m. Barclays Premier League Review NBCSN Mon., Dec. 23 11:30 p.m. Premier League Encore: Manchester Monday NBCSN Tues., Dec. 24 11 p.m. Premier League Encore NBCSN Wed., Dec. 25 6 p.m. Premier League World NBCSN Thurs., Dec. 26 7 a.m. Premier League Live NBCSN Thurs., Dec. 26 7:45 a.m. Hull City v. Manchester United NBCSN Thurs., Dec. 26 9:45 a.m. Premier League Live NBCSN Thurs., Dec. 26 10 a.m. Chelsea v. Swansea City NBCSN Thurs., Dec. 26 10 a.m. West Ham United v. Arsenal Extra Time Thurs., Dec. 26 10 a.m. Everton v. Sunderland Extra Time Thurs., Dec. 26 10 a.m. Tottenham Hotspur v. West Bromwich Albion Extra Time Thurs., Dec. 26 10 a.m. Newcastle United v. Stoke City Extra Time Thurs., Dec. 26 10 a.m. Cardiff City v. Southampton Extra Time Thurs., Dec. 26 10 a.m. Aston Villa v. Crystal Palace Extra Time Thurs., Dec. 26 10 a.m. Norwich City v. Fulham Extra Time Thurs., Dec. 26 Noon Premier League Live NBCSN Thurs., Dec. 26 12:30 p.m. Manchester City v. Liverpool NBCSN, mun2 Sat., Dec. 28 7 a.m. Premier League Live NBCSN Sat., Dec. 28 7:45 a.m. West Ham United v. West Bromwich Albion NBCSN Sat., Dec. 28 10 a.m. Aston Villa v. Swansea Extra Time Sat., Dec. 28 10 a.m. Hull City v. Fulham Extra Time Sat., Dec. 28 10 a.m. Manchester City v. Crystal Palace Extra Time Sat., Dec. 28 10 a.m. Norwich v. Manchester United Extra Time Sat., Dec. 28 Noon Premier League Live NBCSN Sat., Dec. 28 12:30 p.m. Cardiff City v. Sunderland NBC Sat., Dec. 28 11 p.m. NBCSN’s Match of the Day NBCSN Sun., Dec. 29 8 a.m. Premier League Live NBCSN Sun., Dec. 29 8:30 a.m. Newcastle United v. Arsenal NBCSN, mun2 Sun., Dec. 29 8:30 a.m. Everton v. Southampton Extra Time Sun., Dec. 29 10:30 a.m. Premier League Live NBCSN Sun., Dec. 29 11 a.m. Chelsea v. Liverpool NBCSN, Telemundo Sun., Dec. 29 11 a.m. Tottenham Hotspur v. Stoke City Extra Time Sun., Dec. 29 11 p.m. NBCSN’s Match of the Day II NBCSN Mon., Dec. 30 11 p.m. Barclays Premier League Review NBCSN Tues., Dec. 31 12 a.m. Premier League Encore: Manchester Monday NBCSN Tues., Dec. 31 11:30 p.m. Premier League Encore NBCSN Wed., Jan. 1 7 a.m. Premier League Live NBCSN Wed., Jan. 1 7:45 a.m. Swansea City v. Manchester City NBCSN Wed., Jan. 1 9:45 a.m. Premier League Live NBCSN Wed., Jan. 1 10 a.m. Southampton v. Chelsea NBCSN Wed., Jan. 1 10 a.m. Crystal Palace v. Norwich Extra Time Wed., Jan. 1 10 a.m. Fulham v. West Ham United Extra Time Wed., Jan. 1 10 a.m. Liverpool v. Hull City Extra Time Wed., Jan. 1 10 a.m. Stoke City v. Everton Extra Time Wed., Jan. 1 10 a.m. Sunderland v. Aston Villa Extra Time Wed., Jan. 1 10 a.m. West Bromwich Albion v. Newcastle United Extra Time Wed., Jan. 1 10 a.m. Arsenal v. Cardiff City Extra Time Wed., Jan. 1 Noon Premier League Live NBCSN Wed., Jan. 1 12:30 p.m. Manchester United v. Tottenham Hotspur NBCSN
And here’s the NBCSN blurb on the live pregame show at Arsenal-Chelsea from the Emirates Stadium.
BBC’S GARY LINEKER AND EVERTON & USMNT GOALKEEPER TIM HOWARD TO HOST NBCSN’S FIRST ON-SITE PREMIER LEAGUE STUDIO SHOW ON MONDAY, DECEMBER 23
Special 1-hour Premier League Live Features Rebecca Lowe, Robbie Earle & Kyle Martino from NBC Sports Group’s International Broadcast Center in Stamford & Lineker and Howard from Emirates Stadium in London
NBC Debut of Match of the Day on Saturday, December 21Stamford, Conn. – December 18, 2013 – On Day 3 of “The 12 Days of Premier League,” legendary U.K. footballer and BBC Match of the Day presenter Gary Lineker will host NBCSN’s first live on-site Premier League studio coverage alongside Everton and U.S. Men’s National Team goalkeeper Tim Howard, Monday, December 23 at 2 p.m. ET. Howard joins the telecast a day after playing Swansea City (Sun., Dec. 22 at 11 a.m. ET on NBCSN).
The special one-hour Premier League Live leading up to Arsenal v. Chelsea features Rebecca Lowe alongside former Jamaican National Team player Robbie Earle and former U.S. National Team midfielder Kyle Martino from the NBC Sports Group International Broadcast Center in Stamford, Conn. Lineker and Howard will anchor on-location coverage from Emirates Stadium in London where league-leaders Arsenal host third-place Chelsea.
That is all.
