We’re (finally) just a few weeks away from the beginning of the 2015-16 Barclays Premier league season, the final one (for now) that will have a title sponsor. And as we approach the season’s kickoff, UK TV has made their selections for which games to feature each week. As a result, we now know which match we’ll be seeing stateside on NBC and NBCSN for the months of August and September.
It’s worth keeping in mind that NBC hasn’t made their selections for which 10 AM Saturday games to air nationally each week – those decisions usually aren’t made until the week of the match.
The season kicks off on August 8th with Manchester United hosting Tottenham on NBCSN at 7:45 AM. The opening day’s 12:30 PM game, airing either on NBC or NBCSN, will feature reigning champions Chelsea hosting Swansea. On August 9th, the opening weekend continues with Arsenal facing West Ham at the Emirates at 8:30 AM on NBCSN and Liverpool traveling to Stoke at 11 AM. The first matchweek concludes on Monday with Manchester City going on the road to take on West Brom at 3 PM. Naturally, and understandably, NBC will be highlighting the most popular clubs in the league on the first weekend of the season. Did anyone really think Leicester-Sunderland or Everton-Watford would be getting a featured slot? C’mon.
As usual, all matches are also available on NBC Sports Live Extra and Premier League Extra Time. It’s also worth noting that in addition to the usual Saturday, Sunday, Monday timeslots, a few Friday games will be popping up this season. The first Friday game of this season takes place on August 14th, and pits Aston Villa against Manchester United at 2:45 PM.
Here’s the rest of the schedule for the featured matches for August and September, via World Soccer Talk. I’ve taken the liberty of removing the 10 AM Saturday matches (and occasionally, an extra Sunday morning match that will only be available on Live Extra) from the schedule since we still don’t know which matches will be airing nationally in America.
Saturday, August 8
Manchester United vs Spurs, 7:45am, NBCSN
Chelsea vs Swansea, 12:30pm, NBC or NBCSN
Sunday, August 9
Arsenal vs West Ham, 8:30am, NBCSN
Stoke City vs Liverpool, 11am, NBCSN
Monday, August 10
West Brom vs Manchester City, 3pm, NBCSN
Friday, August 14
Aston Villa vs Manchester United, 2:45pm, NBCSN
Saturday, August 15
Southampton vs Everton, 7:45am, NBCSN
Sunday, August 16
Crystal Palace vs Arsenal, 8:30am, NBCSN
Manchester City vs Chelsea, 11am, NBCSN
Monday, August 17
Liverpool vs Bournemouth, 3pm, NBCSN
Saturday, August 22
Manchester United vs Newcastle United, 7:45am, NBCSN
Sunday, August 23
West Brom vs Chelsea, 8:30am, NBCSN
Everton vs Manchester City, 11am, NBCSN
Monday, August 24
Arsenal vs Liverpool, 3pm, NBCSN
Saturday, August 29
Newcastle vs Arsenal, 7:45am, NBCSN
Spurs vs Everton, 12:30pm, NBC or NBCSN
Sunday, August 30
Southampton vs Norwich, 8:30am, NBCSN
Swansea vs Manchester United, 11am, NBCSN
Saturday, September 12
Everton vs Chelsea, 7:45am, NBCSN
Manchester United vs Liverpool, 12:30pm, NBC or NBCSN
Sunday, September 13
Sunderland vs Spurs, 8:30am, NBCSN
Leicester vs Aston Villa, 11am, NBCSN
Monday, September 14
West Ham vs Newcastle, 3pm, NBCSN
Saturday, September 19
Chelsea vs Arsenal, 7:45am, NBCSN
Manchester City vs West Ham, 12:30pm, NBC or NBCSN
Sunday, September 20
Spurs vs Crystal Palace, 8:30am, NBCSN
Southampton vs Manchester United, 11am, NBCSN
Saturday, September 26
Spurs vs Manchester City, 7:45am, NBCSN
Newcastle vs Chelsea, 12:30pm, NBC or NBCSN
Sunday, September 27
Watford vs Crystal Palace, 11am, NBCSN
Monday, September 28
West Brom vs Everton, 3pm, NBCSN
In the first seven matchweeks, the big clubs are prominently featured in the premier timeslots. Six of Manchester United and Chelsea’s seven matches will take place in those windows, while Manchester City, Liverpool, Everton, Tottenham, and Arsenal each have five matches in those windows. The low clubs on the totem pole? Leicester City, Stoke City, Sunderland, and newly promoted AFC Bournemouth, who escapes the 10 AM Saturday window just once. The other two newly promoted sides, Norwich City and Watford, escape the 10 AM window twice, but are bumped to Extra Time in one of those two matches.
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