With the United States unfortunately missing out on the World Cup, it’s time to turn our attention back to the many leagues that are broadcast regularly across American television. And this week there’s been some interesting non World Cup related personnel news on the soccer announcing front.
NBC Sports has made a fantastic addition to their already great team covering the Premier League.
According to World Soccer Talk, the familiar voice of Derek Rae will be part of their EPL coverage moving forward. Rae’s first game is the huge Liverpool-Manchester United game on Saturday morning.
In a period of dark and depressing news for soccer fans in the United States, the best news this week is that Derek Rae has been signed by NBC Sports to be a match commentator.
Rae’s debut for NBC Sports will be the Liverpool-Manchester United match, which will be televised live in the United States on NBCSN at 7:30am ET on Saturday.
Rae calls the match, joined by Phil Neville at Anfield. Saturday’s coverage begins at 6:30 a.m. ET with Premier League Live. Rebecca Lowe hosts Premier League Live, joined by former Major League Soccer and U.S. Men’s National Team midfielder Kyle Martino, and former Premier League footballer Robbie Mustoe.
Rae is probably most well-known for his longtime spell at ESPN, where he was the lead voice for the network’s soccer coverage. Long before Ian Darke moved stateside, it was Rae who was commentating on the world’s biggest games, including the Champions League and major international tournaments like the European Championship and World Cup.
It’s fair to say that Rae was the most recognizable voice for the sport as it was just beginning its ascent on the sporting landscape in the mid-to-late 2000s and he and Arlo White will make for a very good combination at NBC.
