Olympics Give NBC Promotional Path For English Premier League

NBC Sports "is looking at cross-promotion opportunities with the Olympics and new time slots for Premier League matches to further drive viewership for its coverage of the league," which begins its '16-17 season this weekend, according to Ian Thomas of SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL. This "is the fourth year for the network with the Premier League," but it is the first time NBC has been able to broadcast matches coming out of its Summer Olympics coverage. The network "plans to run a number of spots highlighting the Premier League across its Olympic programming," with many of the ads appearing specifically during football coverage from Rio. One of the main spots, which NBC shot last year in both London and N.Y., is called "Bridge and Tunnel." The ad shows someone in N.Y. walking under the Brooklyn Bridge and who, after bumping into NBC anchor Rebecca Lowe, finds himself now under London’s Tower Bridge and on the way to Chelsea’s Stamford Bridge stadium, finishing with the message that the Premier League is "just around the corner." NBC "is looking toward Lowe and the rest of the network’s soccer coverage team to bring back viewers from Rio, as all of the network’s league announcers are working the Olympics." Lowe "will be a host in Rio, while lead play-by-play announcer Arlo White will fill the same role during the U.S. women’s national team matches and the women’s gold medal match." Miller said, "To be able to mainstream all of our Premier League talent into our Rio coverage, it gives us the opportunity to really make them more household names" (SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL, 8/8 issue).