If you have enjoyed ESPN and Fox’s broadcasts of EPL games in recent years, there appears to be some bad news on the horizon.
According to a report, NBC Universal is close to winning the bid for TV rights to EPL games for three years starting with the 2013-2014 season. NBC Universal has reportedly emerged as the front-runner after offering $83 million, an amount that is three times more than what Fox currently pays ($23 million).
Fox and ESPN had attempted to make a joint bid in the race to acquire the TV rights, but they reportedly were informed that it was not accepted. It is unclear if BeIN Sport, the Al Jazeera network which recently started in the U.S., is still in the running.
While the loss of EPL rights will sting both Fox and ESPN, the latter still has rights to the upcoming 2013 Confederations Cup and 2014 World Cup. Fox, meanwhile, could be in a bind as they rely heavily upon Premiership games and analysis shows for programming on Fox Soccer Channel.
EPL is expected to make a formal announcement as to who won the bid next week.
What do you make of this development? Bummed that ESPN and Fox are losing Premiership TV rights? How do you see NBC doing with game coverage? How should Fox Soccer Channel fill their programming?
Share your thoughts below.