Everton’s fight to avoid relegation gets prominent place in NBC’s Premier League coverage

LONDON: NBC’s Premier League team is used to covering the pomp and circumstance of the champions lifting the trophy on Championship Sunday.
With Manchester City having their title ceremonies last week after winning their third straight Premier League title and fifth in the last six seasons, it’s all about the fight to avoid relegation going into the final match day.
NBC’s studio crew and top announcer team will be at Goodison Park for Everton’s match against Bournemouth. Everton have 33 points, two points clear of the relegation zone, but could find themselves out of England’s top division for the first time in nearly 70 years with a loss and a victory by either Leicester City or Leeds United. Everton could be relegated with a draw and a win by Leicester City, which won the 2016 title.
This is first time in NBC’s 10 years of carrying the Premier League that it will be on site for a match with relegation implications.
“I think this is as good as it gets. It would be great to have a title race as well, but this actually allows us to focus on relegation, which we so often can’t do,” said NBC Premier League host Rebecca Lowe. “It paints a whole different picture of an end of a season.
“It’s so rare to have three clubs this size threatened with relegation, which makes the gravitas, the jeopardy, everything even bigger.”
Everton’s large following of fans in the United States is another reason why NBC decided to anchor coverage from Goodison Park. Three teams will vie to avoid the last two relegation spots and join Southampton in heading to the second-tier Championship next season.
NBC studio analyst and former US men’s national team goalkeeper Tim Howard, who made 414 appearances for Everton from 2006-16, will be on hand.
With the Indianapolis 500 on NBC, all 10 matches will be streamed on Peacock for the first time. The Everton match also will be on USA Network, while Leicester City hosting West Ham is on SYFY and Leeds United vs. Tottenham on CNBC. Bravo will carry Manchester United’s match against Fulham, which have no bearing on the standings. All of the matches will start at 11:30 a.m. ET.
Coverage will begin at 9:30 a.m. ET on Peacock and one hour later on USA Network.
Pierre Moossa, NBC’s Coordinating Producer for the Premier League, said Sunday’s coverage could be among the most dramatic since they started covering the league in 2013.
“I know that we all get excited about trophies and medals and everything else, but the imagery after Sunday’s results will be as emotional as you’ll see in any sport,” he said. “What it means to the club or what it means to the players is ultimately their essence.”
While there will be sadness for Leicester City and Leeds United if they are relegated, Lowe said he thinks the scenes from Everton could be different.
“If Everton go down, it’s going to be a lot of anger mixed into the sadness, which will make for quite some scenario,” she said.
The season average for matches on NBC and USA Network is 500,000 viewers, which is even with last season, and the second-most watched Premier League season in the US
Four of the exclusive Premier League matches on Peacock averaged at least 750,000 viewers, according to NBC.
Moossa said he’s been pleased with Peter Drury, who became NBC’s top announcer following the departure of Arlo White. Drury, Lee Dixon and Graeme Le Saux will call the Everton-Bournemouth match.
The Premier League and NBC will have a short offseason before the new campaign begins in August. NBC will be broadcasting the Premier League Summer Series, the first time the league is hosting a preseason tournament in the US There will be nine matches from July 22-31 carried on Peacock, with select matches on NBC and USA Network.

Everton’s fight to avoid relegation gets prominent place in NBC’s Premier League coverage