NBC Broadcast of Arsenal-Man Utd Sets US TV Viewership Record

NBC’s live broadcast of Arsenal against Manchester United set a record for the most-watched live Premier League game in US TV history.

An average viewing audience of 1.4 million people watched the Saturday, November 22 broadcast that began at 12:30pm ET. The high-profile Premier League match was shown on the NBC over-the-air network.

In addition, the match ranks as the fifth-most streamed Premier League match in history, with 81,000 visits and 63,000 uniques on NBC Sports Live Extra.

The game, which was commentated by Arlo White and Lee Dixon, ended in a 2-1 victory for Manchester United.

While the Arsenal-United game set a record for the most-watched live Premier League game on US TV, it was unable to beat the US TV viewership record for a Premier League game — the November, 2011 broadcast of Chelsea-Liverpool viewed by 1.626 million people. That game was shown on tape delay after a NFL game on a Sunday on the FOX free-to-air network.

The live broadcast of the Arsenal-Man United game on NBC follows a string of impressive viewing numbers from NBC Sports Group for Premier League matches. Since kicking off its Premier League coverage in August 2013, NBC Sports Group has aired seven of the 10 most-watched live PL telecasts ever in the U.S.

NBC Sports Group’s soccer coverage continues tomorrow with the first mid-week match days of the season, including 10 live matches on NBCSN and Premier League Extra Time. NBCSN presents coverage of Manchester United v. Stoke City tomorrow at 2:45 p.m. ET, and Chelsea v. Tottenham this Wednesday, December 3, at 2:45 p.m. ET.

The five additional matches tomorrow kicking off at 2:45 p.m. and 3:00 p.m. ET, and the three additional matches Wednesday in the 2:45 p.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.