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How ESPN Would Change The Face of Premier League Coverage On U.S. TV

May 16th, 2008 By The Gaffer --> Comments

espn-logo How ESPN Would Change The Face of Premier League Coverage On U.S. TVImagine it’s Saturday, August 15 2009. This is not just any Saturday, though. It’s the kickoff of the 2009/2010 Premier League season. Leeds United has been promoted back to the big league. Man United is hoping to win their fourth EPL title in a row, and Arsenal will play their first new season without Arsene Wenger in charge. A big weekend of soccer awaits.

Looking at the TV guide (aka crystal ball) for that opening weekend, here’s the schedule for TV viewers in the United States (all times Eastern):

Saturday
7:45am: Leeds v Chelsea (ESPN3) [High Definition]
10am: Crystal Palace v Liverpool (ESPN3)
10am: West Ham United v Newcastle United (Setanta Sports)
10am: Queens Park Rangers v Middlesbrough (Setanta Xtra)
10am: Manchester City v Bolton Wanderers (Fox Soccer Channel)
12:15pm: Fulham v Everton (ESPN3)

Sunday:
8:30am: West Bromwich Albion v Wigan (Setanta Sports)
10am: Blackburn v Portsmouth (Fox Soccer Channel)
11am: Manchester United v Tottenham Hotspur (ESPN3) [High Definition]

Monday:
3pm: Aston Villa v Arsenal (ESPN3) [High Definition]

It’s a dream come true for Premier League fans in the U.S. of A. With ESPN’s penetration into the homes via cable and satellite, ESPN3 (formerly ESPN Classic) would bring the EPL to the masses with high production values, some of the games in HD and the best picks of the games every weekend. ESPN would sublicense the TV rights for the other matches to Setanta and Fox Soccer Channel. The three networks working together will be able to show every single Premier League match live.

The dream of watching Premiership soccer on ESPN is not that far off from reality. According to soccer writer Ives Galarcep today, “The word I just got from a source at ESPN is that ESPN is definitely interested and the feeling around the network is that a large bid is coming because ESPN has big plans for expanding ESPN Classic into potentially an ESPN3, with the English Premier League as one of the station’s marquee draws. That whole scenario may wind up being wishful thinking but what is clear is tht ESPN is interested in the EPL rights.”

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Tags: ESPN · Football Coverage on TV Networks · Fox Soccer Channel · Setanta Sports

Viewing 24 Comments

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    That would be sweet, I think the ratings would be better than ESPN would expect as well, even on Sundays the games get over before the NFL starts, so people can watch the best of both worlds.
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    Do it! Perhaps it is a bit far-fetched at this point, but I do love the way ESPN does "soccer."
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    Ives has a very poor track record for projecting things not New York related.

    I would not put much stock in anything he discusses.
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    If we're dreaming here...then why not have Bolton out of the PL at this point and have Nottingham Forest replace them :)
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    ARSENE WENGER NOT IN CHARGE?

    LETS START OVER.

    Imagine it’s Saturday, August 15 2009. This is not just any Saturday, though. It’s the kickoff of the 2009/2010 Premier League season. Leeds United has been promoted back to the big league. Manchester United are playing their first match after selling Ronaldo to Real Madrid. The site formerly known as epltalk.com doesnt exist anymore. The Gaffer, the dodgy crystal meth addict, imagining he's watching television, is just staring out the window from his room at a drug addiction treatment center.

    GAFFER? ARE YOU JOKING? EITHER THAT OR YOU ARE ON THE HEAVIEST DRUGS KNOWN TO MAN. SUGGESTING SOMEONE WILL LOSE HIS JOB? THATS NOT RIGHT. IF YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO RUN THAT TRASH ON YOUR SITE THAN I CAN HAVE THE SAME RIGHT TO SUGGEST THAT YOU WONT BE AROUND THEN. I MEAN THE MAN'S WON 3 TITLES. THE MAN'S GOTTEN TO THE CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FINAL. THE MAN'S WON A DOUBLE. THE MAN'S TEAM HAS GONE A SEASON UNDEFEATED AND IT LASTED TO 49 GAMES. 49 GAMES. NO ONE ELSE HAS MANAGED HIS TEAM TO ACHIEVE THAT. YOU WISH YOU COULD BE IN HIS PLACE INSTEAD OF YOUR SHADDY LIFE LIVING IN FLORIDA IN SOME SNAKE INFESTED DUMP WHERE YOU SITE 20 HOURS AROUND A COMPUTER AND RUN SOME BLOG YOU CLAIM IS THE BEST IN THE WORLD. ITS ONLY READ FOR THE NONSENSES THAT IS WRITTEN ON THE SITE. YOU HAVE NOTHING ORIGINAL AND YOU DONT EVEN NAME YOUR SOURCES FOR ALL THE NEWS SITES YOU GET YOUR INFORMATION FROM. ITS PLAGIARISM. KEEP DREAMING "GAFFER".
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    Okay I understand projecting a potential ESPN broadcast of the EPL but why are you saying that Wenger will quit/resign and Leeds will be back? Kind of pointless.

    Anyway, I think the idea would be FABULOUS! They probably won't even need to have an ESPN3 because there are no sports locally that begin before noon in the States. Most morning programming is foreign sports or golf. It could be a bit crowded though so then I would understand an "ESPN3" or "ESPN World", etc. It would be grand!!
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    The fantasy stuff aside ,ESPN has to be looking at the EPL big time. Early kickoffs on the weekends and the Monday night games are perfect for their schedule. No other live American sport is taking place at those times, and if sports broadcasting is drawing a crowd then ESPN wants to be their.

    I have been very happy with the ESPN productions for Thursday night MLS games. It's a quality broadcast with a style and substance that appeals to the American audience. Here is a key factor for the quality of the broadcast for ESPN, have your announcers in the stadium and not in a studio. Part of the feel of the game is lost otherwise. That has been the problem over the years with it's Champion League coverage. A studio voice can not give you the feel to the crowd, the players, or the town.

    So I am looking forward to 2009 and also expect a HD broadcast!
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    Wouldnt MLS complain bitterly though? Not sure its good for the American league....

    Also I cant stand ESPN coverage - i like a few of the commentators, Mike Hill and TOmmy Smyth will do (Hill carrys it though) but I cant be dealing with Eric Wynaldo and Juie Fowdy and that hateful Italian fella who detests Wynalso, Georgio Canales or something...

    Those folks all depress me and must be kept far away from the coverage - their half time coverage of the CL is dire too - 4 talking heads spouting a line each in turn between commercial breaks....

    Also - the high def issue is a problem as the originating feed isnt in high def I gather from Sky..
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    ESPN may insist on a HD feed. All the better for us Yanks!

    As to the MLS, the more the American public is exposed to good soccer the better for the domestic league and the USMNT. Interest will grow and demand for better players locally will grow. The MLS season is for the most part in the English off season and ESPN only shows a Thursday night US prime time game currently which does not conflict. And if were talking about ESPN3 there is room for everybody, including the Italian and Spanish leagues.
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    I think the only really far fetched part of the piece was Leeds making it back to the Premiership as they'll still be in League 1 next season.

    I read something a couple months ago (wish I could find it now) that ESPN were looking to buy Setanta. Not sure where that whole thing is now...haven't seen anything.

    Anyone know how long the current broadcast rights contact for North America is for? I seem to recall one was recently signed and in effect for 2 or 3 years. It wasn't that long ago that Fox was buying it weeks before the start of the season and then reselling matches to Setanta. However, now with Setanta having a full-time channel (not just PPV) there was a recent bidding war...well more than one bidder.
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    Anonymous,

    Good heavens. Someone seems a bit defensive and has a severe lack of humor.

    It's a bloody joke. I'm not making predictions. I'm just trying to paint a picture. Arsene Wenger is a brilliant manager, but it doesn't mean he's going to be at Arsenal forever.

    Not sure why you've got your knickers in a twist. I don't plagiarize. Often I do my own interviews with people to get the news direct from the source (such as Setanta Sports and Fox Soccer), so if you think I plagiarize, prove it -- otherwise don't make accusations when you have no evidence.

    If I do use sources for my articles, I attribute them to the source nine times out of ten (take the pictures of the football shirts, for example).

    Lastly, I don't claim EPL Talk to be the best in the world, so stop making stuff up.

    Geez.

    Cheers,
    The Gaffer
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    a horrible black spot in Football should ESPN purchase the rights to broadcast and it'll pave the way to destruction of the Premier League.
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    I hope that EPL stays with Fox Soccer Channel and they expand their coverage so they get the best games. I think it'll be bit unfair that ESPN would 'steal' the EPL TV coverage after FSC took the gamble and put the EPL live with top notch production in America. After seeing what ESPN did with ESPN Classic Channel (they pretty much killed it), i have my doubts that the EPL coverage would improve on ESPN. I'm afraid they would put their own announcers instead of getting the feed of the English Announcers and they'll probably put that annoying ticker box at the bottom of the screen.

    I hope that FSC expands their coverage possibly putting some games on FSN too and re-negotiate the deal with Setanta NA so they would get first choice of games in america
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    Richard,

    I can't see Fox Soccer Channel being able to outbid ESPN for the TV rights, which will be up for bidding before the 2009/2010 season. The rights are getting more and more expensive. If anything, I see Fox having less Premier League coverage in the future rather than more. And I don't see them taking Prem games off Setanta and putting them on FSC. This is purely conjecture, so I may be wrong.

    Cheers,
    The Gaffer
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    Richard,

    I can't see Fox Soccer Channel being able to outbid ESPN for the TV rights, which will be up for bidding before the 2009/2010 season. The rights are getting more and more expensive. If anything, I see Fox having less Premier League coverage in the future rather than more. And I don't see them taking Prem games off Setanta and putting them on FSC. This is purely conjecture, so I may be wrong.

    Cheers,
    The Gaffer
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    By all indications, those being the growing commitment to soccer by ESPN, ie: MLS, World Cup, Champions League, USMNT, USWNT, and Euro 2008, and increasing their own productions of those events, a bid for EPL of some sort can be expected. It has always been my opinion that the most logical place for ESPN to start would the EPL Monday night game which fills a hole in the ESPN schedule. Almost no American sport would be played live at that time.

    A second game is a likely if the price is right but it would have to be an early weekend start. A lunchtime UK start again does not conflict with
    any American sports event. So, instead of repeats of sports center at 6:00am CST in Chicago on a Sunday morning, why not a EPL game, but the audience will be limited at that time so the cost for ESPN has to be right.

    FSC and Setanta will be left to carry the centerpiece games of the day. So, things get only better!
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    Gaffer, Rupurt Murdoch owns FSC and Skysports so I can't see this being ESPN the giant taking EPL from FSC on a bidding battle without a fight. Since my love of the EPL came from watching FSC in 2006 after the WC- I would like FSC continue with its coverage of the EPL although I'm a bit disapointed that the pick of the best games has fallen from FSC this year. Why did FSC drop showing the monday afternoon game?

    For those who think EPL would improve on the ESPN3 - look at what ESPN did with ESPN Classic Channel. ESPN bought the Sports Classic Channel about 10 years ago - stating that they would improve/expand the Classic Channel with more sporting events in the past (more boxing matches with Muhammed Ali, Michael Jordan games at North Carolina, etc). With so much potential with such a large sport library. ESPN pretty much killed ESPN classic by putting on roller derby and bowling matches. ESPN has stopped all new funding and new shows on ESPN Classic

    I could see ESPN3 putting on scores of games on the ticker box below for games they'll show for the first time on tape delay and ESPN3 cutting away from the soccer coverage for ESPN Updates every 10 minutes. Also I imagine ESPN3 would only show matches featuring the Big4 being almost a ManUnited & Chelsea Channel (i'm a tottenham fan) so we won't be able to see the Portsmouth/Aston Villa, Everton/Man City, Newcastle/Tottenham or even Fulham/ WestHam matches featured much on a ESPN3 channel

    Anyways feel better Gaffer and i hope you start putting on more podcasts in the future. Your interviews are some of the best on the net.

    cheers, richard
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