NBC Sports is aware that it will quite thoroughly annoy some of its most devoted viewers this week.
But the network is ready. Indeed, it has been ever since it added English Premier League soccer games to its paid subscription streaming platform, NBC Sports Gold, at the start of the season this past August.
A package of 130 games which were previously available online to cable or satellite subscribers without any additional fee suddenly were not.
On the flip side, fans without TV subscriptions now had a way to watch 130 games from one of the world’s most famous soccer leagues for $49.