NBC has owned the U.S. television rights to the Premier League since 2016 and during that time fans have grown accustomed to watching many of those matches and other EPL shoulder programming on NBC Sports Channel, popularly known as NBCSN, which became the de facto TV home of the Premier League.
But that’s about to change after NBCSN was shut down on Jan. 1, 2022. And it will take some time to get used to for fans of the Premier League.
With NBCSN ceasing operations, NBC has made USA Network the new English-language home of the English Premier League in the United States beginning in 2022. USA Network previously served as an occasional overflow channel for matches, often in cases of concurrent high-profile matches.
Below are all the details for Premier League fans to continue watching their favorite teams and players uninterrupted.
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Why was NBCSN shut down?
NBCSN has been a fixture for U.S. sports fans since it’s launch as the Outdoor Life Network (OLN) in 1995, originally broadcasting outdoor sports such as fishing, hunting, and eventually becoming known for its coverage of the Tour de France. The network was rebranded as Versus in 2006, and took on coverage of the NHL, combat sports, and NASCAR.
In January 2012, shortly after Comcast merged with NBC, the network was again rebranded to NBC Sports Network, and a year later that moniker was officially shortened NBCSN. By 2020, the network was tabbed as the second-most watched sports network after ESPN.
NBC Sports chairman Pete Bevacqua first announced the shutdown of NBCSN to employees in a memo on January 22, 2021, and then formally made it public later in the year.
NBC has been tight-lipped on the exact reason why NBCSN is being shut down, only calling it “part of a larger transition” in the internal memo. But it’s widely speculated that the shutdown of NBCSN is part of the company’s desire to push more sports content to its Peacock streaming service, hoping to entice fans to subscribe.
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Which TV channel airs the Premier League?
USA Network will become the new cable home of the Premier League in the United States starting January 1, 2022.
As was the case before, occasionally more high-profile matches will be moved to the company’s main network channel NBC, or they can also be exclusively available on NBC’s streaming service Peacock.
Many Premier League matches are also televised in Spanish on Telemundo and Universo.
Which sports are on USA Network?
In addition to becoming the home of Premier League coverage in the United States, NBC will also shift coverage of all its other sports to USA Network, including:
- NASCAR Cup and Xfinity Series races
- INDYCAR
- Olympic Games (incl. 2022 Winter Olympics)
- Olympics sports
- Golf (The Open, AIG Women’s Open, U.S. Open, U.S. Women’s Open)
- College sports (Atlantic 10 basketball)
- Horse racing
- Cycling (Tour de France)
- Motor Sports (IMSA, Monter Jam, Supercross)
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Where to find USA Network on cable & satellite
USA Network can be found on most cable and satellite packages, including:
- AT&T U-verse HD: Channel 1125
- Charter Spectrum HD: Channel 760
- Comcast XFINITY TV HD: Channel 823
- Cox Communication HD: Channel 1028
- DirecTV HD: Channel 242
- DISH Network HD: Channel 105
- Time Warner Cable HD: Channel 55, 101
- Verizon FiOS: Channel 550
Channel assignments may vary by market, and could be updated by each provider to a different channel at any time.
USA Network is also available via most streaming services, including:
- fuboTV
- Youtube TV
- Sling TV (Blue package)
- Hulu + Live TV
- DirecTV Stream
New users of fuboTV can sign up for a free 7-day trial . Previous subscribers to fuboTV will be able to stream matches as usual that air on USA Network, NBC network, Telemundo and Universo.