Everton’s Jarrad Branthwaite (right) and Arsenal’s Kai Havertz during the Premier League match between Arsenal FC and Everton FC at Emirates Stadium on May 19, 2024.
Vision House/Getty Images
The Premier League continues to be a winning season for NBCUniversal, with the world’s most-watched soccer league garnering record ratings across NBC, Peacock and USA Network in the 2023/2024 season.
On Thursday, NBCU revealed that last season of the Premier League broke several viewership records across various platforms. For the 2023/2024 season, NBC Sports averaged 546,000 viewers per television match window, making it the most-watched season in Premier League history in the U.S., according to the company. Overall, the 2023/2024 season was up 4% from last season (527,000) and surpassed the previous record of 541,000 set in 2015-16, Leicester City’s incredible title-winning season.
The ratings were no doubt boosted by the title race between Arsenal and Manchester City going all the way to the final game of the season, which NBC Sports dubbed “Championship Sunday.” According to the company, the final day of the season, when all 10 Premier League games kicked off simultaneously, drew a total of about 3 million viewers across Peacock, NBC, USA Network, CNBC, Golf Channel, NBC Sports Digital, Telemundo and Universo.
Underscoring the high level of interest in the 2023/2024 season, six of the seven most-watched Premier League games in U.S. history took place in the just-concluded season. Additionally, according to NBC Sports, the 2023/2024 season saw the first ever match to surpass the two million mark, with Manchester City vs. Arsenal on March 31 reaching 2.12 million viewers.
The Premier League has been a boon for Peacock. The Arsenal vs. Liverpool match on February 4 drew a record minute average of 1.15 million viewers, the first time a single game exceeded one million viewers last season, according to NBC Sports figures. Peacock broke the one million mark again on March 3, when Manchester City vs. Manchester United, the Manchester derby, drew 1.1 million viewers. Each of Peacock’s eight exclusive games this season has averaged at least 800,000 viewers, four times more than last season, according to NBC Sports.
NBC Sports added that Peacock-exclusive matches accounted for the top three and eight of the nine most-streamed Premier League matches ever in the U.S. Overall, Peacock viewers have spent 28% more time live-streaming Premier League matches this season than last season, the company said.
NBC Sports has held the exclusive U.S. broadcasting rights to the Premier League since 2013, replacing Fox Sports, which held the rights from 1998 to 2013. NBC Sports’ current six-year contract with the English Football League begins in 2022 and is reportedly worth $2.7 billion ($450 million per season), running until the end of the 2027/28 season.
