PREMIER LEAGUE RETURNS IN ONE MONTH – NBCUNIVERSAL TV SCHEDULE FOR FIRST 2 MONTHS OF 2017-18 SEASON ANNOUNCED

Coverage Debuts Friday, August 11 at 2 p.m. ET on NBCSN

Live Matches Presented in Spanish on Telemundo & Universo

Digital Coverage Presented Across NBCSports.com, NBC Sports app & Direct-to-Consumer Product NBC Sports Gold

STAMFORD, Conn. – July 12, 2017 – With just 30 days until kickoff of the 2017-18 Premier League season, NBC Sports Group today released its television schedule for the first two months of the season. The schedule features live coverage of all 70 matches beginning Friday, August 11, at 2 p.m. ET on NBCSN with Premier League Live followed by Arsenal v. Leicester City at 2:45 p.m. ET.

The networks of NBCUniversal will present at least five games each week in the season’s first two months on NBC, NBCSN, and CNBC, with all games preceded and followed by Premier League Live pre- and post-match shows from the NBC Sports Group International Broadcast Center in Stamford, Conn.

In addition, matches will be telecast in Spanish each week by Telemundo and Universo, and will also be streamed on the Telemundo Deportes En Vivo app for mobile devices.

Premier League games on NBC, NBCSN and CNBC will be streamed on NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app — NBC Sports Group’s live streaming product for desktops, mobile devices, tablets, and connected TVs. Coverage will be streamed via “TV Everywhere,” giving consumers additional value for their subscription service, and making high quality content available to MVPD customers both in and out of the home and on multiple platforms. The NBC Sports app is powered by Playmaker Media and available on the iTunes App Store, Google Play, Windows Store, Roku Channel Store, Apple TV and Amazon Fire.

All remaining Premier League matches will be made available on NBC Sports Gold — NBC Sports Digital’s direct-to-consumer live streaming product — “Premier League Pass,” giving fans in the U.S. exclusive access to 130 live Premier League matches plus the most robust offering of Premier League shoulder programming ever available in the U.S. The direct-to-consumer pass, powered by Playmaker Media, will stream coverage live and on-demand via desktop, mobile, tablets, and connected TV devices. Further information for the 2017-18 season of “Premier League Pass,” priced at $49.99, will be sent to fans who can register at NBCSportsGold.com.
Highlights From August-September Premier League Schedule

Week 1 - Friday, August 11, 2:45 p.m. ET on NBCSN:

ARSENAL v. LEICESTER CITY

For the first time, the Premier League season kicks off with Friday night football when Arsenal host Leicester City at the Emirates. After signing a two-year contract extension in May, Arsene Wenger will look to bounce back from a tumultuous season that saw Arsenal finish outside the top-four for the first time in 21 years. Club-record signing Alexandre Lacazette – one of France’s most prolific strikers over the last four years – is expected to make his Arsenal debut. One year after their stunning title-winning season, Leicester finished 12^th – the lowest by a defending champion in Premier League history, and with 44 points, the fewest by a reigning top-flight champion in 115 years. Striker Jamie Vardy will look to lead the way to a bounce-back season for the Foxes.

Week 2 - Sunday, August 20, 11:00 a.m. ET on NBCSN:

TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR v. CHELSEA

In an early meeting of last season’s top two clubs, reigning champions Chelsea take on a Tottenham side at Wembley – Spurs’ temporary home until their new stadium opens next season. Tottenham shut down White Hart Lane – their home for 118 years – by going unbeaten at the ground all season, including beating Chelsea 2-0 in January. Chelsea’s record-setting campaign overshadowed an extremely successful season for an up-and-coming Tottenham club, whose squad remains largely intact from last season – including two-time defending Golden Boot winner Harry Kane and 21-year-old Dele Alli.

Week 3 - Sunday, August 27, 11:00 a.m. ET on NBCSN:

LIVERPOOL v. ARSENAL

After remaining unbeaten in 11 of their final 12 league matches last season, Liverpool will look to carry momentum and push for their first title in 28 years. A healthy squad that includes Sadio Mane, plus $47 million summer signing Mohamed Salah, should bolster their chances at a second consecutive top-four finish. There should be no shortage of goals, as 17 have been scored in the last three league meetings between Arsenal and Liverpool. Last season, Jurgen Klopp became the first Liverpool manager to complete the league “double” over Arsenal since Gerard Houllier in 1999-00.

Week 4 – Saturday, September 9, 7:30 a.m. ET on NBCSN:

MANCHESTER CITY v. LIVERPOOL

After a disappointing debut season for Pep Guardiola that saw him fail to win a trophy for the first time in his managerial career, Manchester City made key summer signings in Portuguese midfielder Bernardo Silva and Brazilian goalkeeper Ederson. Man City opened last season with 10 straight wins in all competitions, and will hope to make a similar splash early on in this campaign as they host Liverpool after the season’s first FIFA international break. Manchester City have not won a Premier League meeting against Liverpool since August 2014.

Week 5 – Sunday, September 17, 8:30 a.m. ET on CNBC:

CHELSEA v. ARSENAL

After hosting Leicester City on opening night, Arsenal have tough away matches at Stoke (Aug. 19) and at Liverpool (Aug. 27) before visiting defending champions Chelsea for a London Derby on September 17. The first meeting between these two clubs last season has been remembered by Antonio Conte’s second-half tactical switch to a 3-4-3 formation, which ultimately turned Chelsea’s title fates despite the 3-0 loss.

Week 5 – Sunday, September 17, 11:00 a.m. ET on NBCSN:

MANCHESTER UNITED v. EVERTON

Romelu Lukaku’s transfer to Manchester United and Wayne Rooney’s transfer back to his boyhood club Everton this summer have made this match easily one of the marquee fixtures of the early season. Manchester United’s all-time leading scorer returns to Old Trafford for the first time since re-joining Everton, the club where he made his professional debut. Upon signing with Everton in July – 13 years after he left the Toffees for Man United as an 18-year-old – the now 31-year-old Rooney proclaimed: “I’m not coming back into a retirement home. I want to play and I want to win.” On the other side, Lukaku will be making his first appearance against his former club Everton. Last season Lukaku became just the fourth player in Premier League history to score more than 80 goals before turning 24. This season, he reunites with Jose Mourinho, who sold him to Everton in 2014 while they were both at Chelsea.

In addition, THE MEN IN BLAZERS SHOW hosted by Roger Bennett and Michael Davies makes its season premiere Monday, August 21, at 5:30 p.m. ET.

Following is the NBCUniversal schedule for the first two months of the Premier League season:

(NOTE: TBD indicates that there will be matches in that time slot on NBCSN and/or CNBC, in some cases one match on Universo or Telemundo, and remaining non-NBCSN/non-CNBC games on NBC Sports Gold. Final channel assignments for those matches will be made in the coming weeks.)

--NBC SPORTS GROUP--