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<p>We love watching the Premier League games on NBC Sports. That’s no secret. So, we were inquisitive when <a href="https://nbcsportsgrouppressbox.com/2022/01/05/nbc-sports-premier-league-coverage-on-usa-network-on-new-years-weekend-scores-27-increase-over-last-years-cable-coverage/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">NBC Sports PR sent out a press release</a> this week. It screams how USA Network is a success in its opening weekend of Premier League games. We decided to take a closer look to see what the numbers tell us.</p>
<p>The headline is that the <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/2021/11/02/premier-league-games-move-to-usa-after-nbcsn-shuts-down-dec-31/">Premier League on USA</a> had a 27% increase. That’s compared to the New Year’s Day weekend on NBCSN last year.  </p>
<p>In fact, the five Saturday-Sunday matches on USA Network averaged a Total Audience Delivery of 570,000 viewers. During the  comparable weekend last year, NBCSN averaged 449,000 over four games. </p>
<p>Which four games were they in 2021?</p>
<p>•&nbsp;Spurs vs. Leeds<br>
•&nbsp;Crystal Palace vs. Sheffield United<br>
•&nbsp;Newcastle vs. Leicester<br>
•&nbsp;Chelsea vs. Manchester City</p>
<p>This 2022 year was certainly different. First, the comparable games featured heavyweights Chelsea-Liverpool and Manchester City-Arsenal. Second, the other games were Watford-Spurs, Crystal Palace-West Ham and Everton-Brighton.</p>
<p>So, no doubt, the 2022 fixtures were far more attractive and featured bigger fanbases. Crystal Palace against Sheffield United, in particular, would not have been a ratings extravaganza. </p>
<p>For the 2022 games, USA Network delivered the highest average cable viewership for a “Festive Fixtures” weekend since Boxing Day in 2015 (12/26/15).</p>
<p>Sunday’s Chelsea-Liverpool on USA Network averaged a TAD of 1.04 million viewers to rank as third-most watched Premier League match ever on cable. Saturday’s Manchester City-Arsenal game averaged a TAD of 476,000 viewers. That match marking the most-watched game to kick off before 8 a.m. ET since Oct. 20, 2018 (Chelsea-Manchester United).</p>
<p>In conclusion, the USA Network numbers show promise but we would like to see continued improvement before calling it a ratings success. After all, USA Network is in far more homes than NBCSN (90 million compared to 79 million).</p>
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Premier League on USA Network TV ratings start well

NBC Sports

Premier League on USA Network TV ratings start well