FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, August 12th, 2013
5 DAYS UNTIL NBC SPORTS GROUP DEBUTS PREMIER LEAGUE COVERAGE ON AUGUST 17
Lee Dixon: “There is no way Manchester United will have it as easy as they did last year.”
NBC Sports Network Kicks Off Premier League Coverage Saturday, August 17, at 7 AM ET
STAMFORD – August 12, 2013 – Five days from today – on Saturday, August 17 – NBC Sports Group kicks off the most ambitious, extensive and comprehensive coverage of the Premier League available anywhere in the world. Coverage begins at 7 AM ET on NBC Sports Network with the Liverpool-Stoke City match and continues throughout the season on the networks of NBCUniversal, on the Premier League Extra Time bonus TV package, and streamed on NBC Sports Live Extra.
PREMIER LEAGUE NUMBER OF THE DAY: 5
5 current players have scored more than 120 career Premier League goals: Robin van Persie (122), Nicolas Anelka (123), Jermain Defoe (123), Wayne Rooney (156), and Frank Lampard (165).
Sounding off with NBC Sports Group’s Premier League analyst LEE DIXON:
What I am most looking forward to this Premier League season is…
A more competitive race for the title. It’s very interesting with what is happening in the transfer window at the moment. People ask me who I think will win the league, but the fact that the window doesn’t close for another three weeks makes it impossible to decide. With Gareth Bale, Luis Suarez, and Wayne Rooney there are still some massive moves to happen, but to where?
Before I go on air, I need…
A cup of tea! Ha. Notes are done. Prep is complete. I always find the first five minutes of a game very interesting with the formations, energy levels and tempo of each team. It sets the game. I concentrate on this period very intently as it’s very important, which normally makes me quite focused and irritable pre-match!
There is no way…
Manchester United will have it as easy as they did last year. Manchester City were complacent after their win in 2012. Not this year.
The game that I’m looking forward to in the first few months of the season is…
The first one I’m calling! Swansea v. Manchester United (12:30 PM ET on NBC). What a great start to NBC’s coverage of the Barclays Premier League.
If I’m not watching soccer…
I like to ride my bike; I’m a very keen cyclist. I will probably be riding to some of the stadiums during the season — cut down on NBC expenses!
NBC Sports Group will make available in the United States all 380 games from the Premier League. That’s more than anywhere else on the globe (including the U.K.). All games 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.
For information about NBC Sports Group’s Premier League announcers, click here.
To “Keep Calm and Pick A Side” on the Premier League team picker, click here.
For more information on NBC Sports Group’s Premier League television schedule, click here.
For more NBC Sports Group’s Premier League coverage facts and numbers, click here.
For NBC Sports Group’s programming plans, click here.
–NBC SPORTS GROUP–