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Networks expected to line up for latest round of English Premier League rights this summer

The U.S. bidding process for the quietly popular English Premier League rights will look very different this summer than it did in 2012 — the last time the league’s rights went up for bid.

As in 2012, ESPN, Fox and the EPL’s current U.S. rights holder, NBC, will bid for the rights, which will likely hit the market this summer and start with the 2016-17 season. BeIN Sport also has shown interest, sources say.

“It will be a robust competition,” said ESPN President John Skipper. “We expect to have some conversations.”

But unlike three years ago, when NBC won the rights with an $83 million-per-year bid, ESPN and Fox will not submit a joint bid, according to several sources. In 2012, ESPN and Fox combined their bid in an effort to keep the EPL from taking its rights to NBC. Fox Sports had owned the rights at the time and sublicensed about 80 games per season to ESPN.

There’s less of a need this year for ESPN and Fox to submit a combined bid. Fox Sports closed Fox Soccer Channel in 2013, turning it into youth-oriented programming channel FXX, and focused its attention on rights acquisitions for Fox Sports 1 and Fox Sports 2. Fox Sports still is committed to soccer — it holds World Cup rights through 2026 — and plans to submit a bid for the EPL.

“We expect to be very involved in discussions regarding the next cycle,” a Fox spokesman said.

The biggest potential change could involve how the EPL comes to market. The EPL has not made any decisions on how it will structure its package, but several U.S. television executives believe the EPL is considering splitting its U.S. rights into as many as three packages. This would allow two or three networks to carry the games, rather than one, with hopes of increasing exposure. But NBC’s lucrative $83 million-per-year deal — three times higher than the EPL’s previous deal — is predicated, in part, on exclusivity.

The EPL has not made a decision yet. The league met with team owners at the end of last month to consider various options, which include breaking up the package as it does in other markets. Sources say the bigger clubs value more distribution, believing that added partners would allow for broader exposure and potentially more successful tours in the U.S. The smaller clubs place a bigger value on the amount, as media rights provide the bulk of its revenue.

During the meeting, EPL clubs spoke glowingly of NBC, which is in the second year of a three-year deal. EPL programming has been a cultural hit for NBC, drawing strong audiences and serving as the cornerstone of its weekend morning programming. Its ability to make every EPL game available, either on TV or online, has impressed not only the league but rival executives, as well.

“My hat’s off to NBC,” Skipper said. “They’ve done a fabulous job.”

NBC has made it clear that it is happy with the EPL and wants to keep the rights on an exclusive basis. NBC’s sports strategy has been to focus on exclusivity rather than sharing packages with other networks, as evident by its packages with the NHL, EPL and Formula One. It also carries the second half of the NASCAR season exclusively. NBC executives want that to continue with the EPL.

“We are very proud of our partnership with the Premier League,” an NBC spokesman emailed. “We look forward to discussing future rights with them later this year.”

U.S. media sources believe EPL executives will make presentations to interested networks as early as May, with bids submitted by June. Typically, the EPL takes a couple of days to decide on the bids.

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