“NBC wins Premier League rights in the United States for the 2022/23 through 2027/28 seasons.”

It is the news all of us have been anxiously awaiting. To find out which U.S. broadcaster will be airing Premier League soccer matches for the next six seasons.

The rights attracted no shortage of suitors. Sources revealed to World Soccer Talk that it was the most competitive bidding war ever for U.S. rights to the Premier League. As a result, several major media companies were involved in bidding. For example, they included WarnerMedia, Amazon, FOX, ViacomCBS, ESPN and, of course, incumbent NBC Sports. Afterward, the Premier League entertained the option of split deals. ESPN and CBS Sports were reportedly interested in a combined deal to usurp NBC Sports.

Ultimately, the Premier League decided to go with NBC.

The U.S. media rights were expected to cost somewhere between $250-300 million a year. Reports are that the deal was signed for roughly $433 million per year; $2.6 billion in total.

“We are excited to come to this long-term extension with the Premier League,” said Pete Bevacqua, Chairman, NBC Sports. “Our Premier League team, led by Jon Miller, has been incredibly dedicated to growing the Premier League in the United States over the last nine years. This new agreement is also a testament to the hard work of production, marketing and other areas of our company, as well as the tremendous partnership that has been established with the leadership and club owners of the Premier League.”

Richard Masters, Premier League Chief Executive, said: “We are delighted to announce our new US broadcast deal with NBC Sports, who have been brilliant partners for the Premier League over the last nine seasons. NBC Sports has significantly strengthened the popularity of the League in the United States in that time through its fantastic coverage and promotion.

“NBC Sports’ Premier League Mornings programming is now a real institution among supporters in America, with fans getting up early to come together and cheer on their favourite club, week in, week out. It’s an exciting time for football in the US and we look forward to continuing to work with NBC Sports to bring our competition to even more fans over the next six years.”

READ MORE: Pros and cons of the broadcasters who bid on the Premier League rights

NBC Sports is averaging a Total Audience Delivery of 609,000 viewers across its English- and Spanish-language Premier League television match windows this season – the highest viewership average through this point in the season since 2015-16 and up 14% from last year.

NBC Sports is the home of 489 of the 500 most-watched live Premier League matches in U.S. television history.

Premier League rights to date

The history of the Premier League on US TV has been a rich one.

When the Premier League signed a six-year rights extension with NBC Sports in September 2015, the media world was different. At that time, over the top streaming services were largely limited to on-demand taped programming. Meanwhile, linear TV networks offered streaming services such as ESPN3 and NBCSports.com. They were complementary to cable and satellite subscriptions, requiring authentication.

NBC’s current six-year exclusive rights package expires at the end of this current Premier League campaign.