Robin van Persie
Robin van Persie will be one of the Premier League stars that NBC will be showcasing this season. Reuters

The Barclays Premier League will have a new home in the United States starting this weekend with NBC beginning their bold new coverage of England’s particular version of the beautiful game. NBC Universal paid €250 million to become the U.S. rights holder of the league for the next three years and are promising to match that unprecedented outlay with the same level of coverage.

All 380 matches for the coming season will be available to view, with NBC Sports Network screening 154 of those. [For details of where to find NBC Sports Network in your area, consult NBC’s Channel Finder.] A further 22 matches will be shown on other NBC universal channels, while NBC will screen 20, starting with Saturday’s clash between Swansea City and Manchester United.

All other matches will be available for no extra charge on Premier League Extra Time, which is currently available to subscribers of AT&T U-verse, Bright House Networks, Cablevision’s Optimum, Comcast’s Xfinity TV, Cox, DirecTV, Mediacom, Suddenlink, and Time Warner Cable. In addition, every match will be live streamed though NBC Sports Live Extra, which is accessible from the following cable subscribers: AT&T U-verse, Cablevision Optimum, Charter, Comcast’s Xfinity, Cox, DirecTV, Dish Network, Verizon FiOS and Suddenlink. NBC’s coverage will feature a studio show, beginning at 7 a.m. ET on Saturdays and 8 a.m. ET on Sundays, hosted by Rebecca Lowe and analysts Robbie Earle, Kyle Martino, and Robbie Mustoe. Martino and Earle have both been used by NBC in their Major League Soccer coverage, while Mustoe is a recent recruit from ESPN.

Meanwhile, the on-site announcing team will be led by Arlo White, with former England internationals Lee Dixon and Graeme Le Saux to be used as analysts. NBC have also employed former World Cup Golden Boot winner and leading presenter in the U.K. Gary Lineker, who will front occasional on-site studio broadcasts. A two-hour highlights show will be shown on Saturday nights at 11 p.m. ET to round up the day’s action, with a similar program airing following Sunday’s games.

It all gets underway this weekend, with five featured matches.

Saturday
7.45 a.m. ET
Liverpool Vs. Stoke City (NBC Sports Network)
10 a.m. Arsenal Vs. Aston Villa (NBC Sports Network)
12.45 p.m. Swansea City Vs. Manchester United (NBC)

Sunday
8.30 a.m.
Crystal Palace Vs. Tottenham Hotspur (NBC Sports Network)
11 a.m. Chelsea Vs. Hull City (NBC Sports Network)