American TV giant NBC wants two opening day Premier League games played in the US as price of mammoth £2bn TV deal - sparking backlash among fans after 39th game debacle 17 years ago

The drive for Premier League games to be played in the USA continues to gather momentum, with American TV giants NBC 

The concept of holding Premier League games across the Atlantic has re-emerged in recent weeks, with chief executive Richard Masters admitting that the 'door is ajar' for matches to be played abroad. 

However he also noted that it was not currently a topic of discussion, which would appear to have thrown cold water over the notion. 

It comes at a time when football is experiencing a huge growth spurt in the USA, with Lionel Messi's arrival at Inter Miami noted as one of the contributing factors, but there is also a great interest in the English game. 

A record 2.6million viewers tuned in to Manchester City's 0-0 draw with Arsenal, widely tipped as a game that would decide the league title, and NBC's president of acquisitions and partnerships has revealed that 'conversations' have taken place.  

'We've had conversations with the Premier League and they've been very open and receptive to listening to me,' Miller told The Athletic.

'We did the Premier League Summer Series (in pre-season) last year where we had six teams come over; Fulham, Aston Villa, Newcastle, Chelsea, Brighton & Hove Albion, and Brentford. 

'We had nine games in seven days in five cities around America (and 265,000 fans were in attendance). It was great.'

'All the teams that came over did really well, had a great experience, and really were able to interact with the fan base. And the Premier League saw that it was very successful. At some point in the future, I would love to see a couple of Premier League games open the season here in big stadiums on our opening weekend. 

'And I know that’s something that we’ll continue to push for because I think that there’s an American audience here that would like to see regular season games but in the meantime, we’ll continue to work with the Premier League to do everything we can to make the games available to as many people as possible. 

It comes as Casey Wasserman - the Los Angeles Olympics 2028 chief and founder of sports and entertainment agency Wasserman Media Group - suggested that the move was likely to happen in the future. 

Wasserman used the example of NFL games being played at Wembley as an example, which has been something of a success story with English fans flocking to Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and Wembley with regularity. 

LaLiga chief Javier Tebas has notably already given his support to Spanish league matches moving across the Atlantic, suggesting the 2025-26 season as a starting point. 

'Just as the NFL has done a really good job taking their games overseas I think you are going to see European professional [soccer] games being played in the United States,' claimed Wasserman. 

'It is the biggest sport in the world and this is the biggest sports market in the world.'

'Look at what Messi playing for MLS is doing for MLS, its stunning. But if you had a Manchester United vs Chelsea match in New York or a Real Madrid and Barcelona in Miami, those levels of games in American cities — real games that count — could be massive. I would be shocked if it didn't happen.'

It is worth noting, however, that an NFL team will only play 17 games in the regular season before the play-offs, which is far fewer than the 38 a football team plays in the league alone, before the fixtures in at least two cup competitions for Premier League sides. 

Trips across the Atlantic would therefore infringe upon an already packed schedule that consistently comes in for criticism from top-flight managers, Pep Guardiola already commenting on it this month. 

There would also likely be environmental ramifications involved in flying an entire football squad across the Atlantic Ocean on a regular basis moving forward just to play one game, with similar complaints already being raised due to the impacts of clubs traveling across Europe in midweek. 

The concept has met with firm opposition from fans - who played a key role in defeating the '39th game' idea some 17 years ago - with many American supporters also against the suggestion. 

The Football Supporters Association wrote on X: 'We defeated Game 39 in 2008 and we'd attack any attempted revival with a full blown, two feet off the ground, studs to the knee tackle.' 

Another user added: 'I’m an American fan, and this is not something I want. Premier League is not an American sport, and they shouldn’t have to travel here for league games. Ever.'

A third claimed: 'From an American obsessed with English football to Jon Miller, NO! English games belong in England.'

One wrote: 'Absolutely and unequivocally no. The most hard of hard passes. An absurd idea championed by those with less-than-zero idea about footballing culture, community, or history.'

And a fifth user concluded: 'There is literally no reason for any European league to go play real competitive matches in the US… players already have an extremely packed schedule, it’s not comparable to the NFL where teams only have to play like 17 games a season without international competitions.'

The fact that fans appear to be so vehemently opposed would prove a sizeable obstacle to the movement, with supporters notably a key part in the disbanding of the proposed European Super League in England, as well as the rejection of the 39th game proposal.  

NBC Sports is currently locked in a six-year contract with the Premier League for continued exclusive coverage of games in the US since 2022. 

The deal was reported to be worth $450million-per-season (around £360m) to the Premier, 'which represents more than five times the first deal signed with NBC when they began broadcasting the Premier League in 2012,' according to The Athletic. 

Additionally, over the last 11 years, nearly 40m viewers have watched the Premier League each season on NBC, and a study by Nielson revealed that 48 percent of all soccer fans in the US now have a favorite Premier League team.

Miller also revealed that he would like to provide greater audio access to fans as he wants to offer a deeper insight into the way managers interact with fourth officials, players and the remainder of their coaching staff.

He told The Athletic: 'There are two things that really bring the viewer and the fan closer to the action: access and audio. So whenever you can increase your access and build your stars up, that's great. And people love to hear what Jurgen Klopp is saying to his team or what he's saying on the sidelines.

'We realize there's got to be some protection against that. But we think that those are the kind of things that we're continuing to push the envelope on. And the Premier League is responsive. They're really good when we come to them with ideas. Far be it for me to try to tell the Premier League what makes a good product. Their product is spectacular.

'But much like we do with the NFL, and golf, we constantly have conversations with our partners and brainstorm on things that we can do to make the games better and more appealing to try to grow our audience.'