Premier League Summer Series Reinforces League's Growth In The U.S.
Wes Brown admits he was shocked one of the first times he came to the United States on a preseason tour with Manchester United in the early 2000s.
'What I remember is that there was a massive football fanbase,' said Brown, a five-time Premier League winner during his United career from 1996-2011. 'Coming from England and Manchester, you don't think that and think there might be a few fans, but every time we played here or I've been back here watching the club, it's been absolutely fantastic.
'We didn't realize how big (football) was here, and it's gotten bigger and bigger each year. … We were walking around (NYC) today and even people were recognizing me.'
Not only has the investment and expansion of domestic leagues like MLS, USL and NWSL helped drive soccer's growth in the U.S., European leagues and clubs like the Premier League and Manchester United making the highly coveted market a top priority as part of their respective internationalization strategies has added an endless supply of fuel to the now-raging football fire.
The Premier League has been buoyed in the U.S. thanks to a long-term media rights deal with NBC, who first started broadcasting England's top domestic league with the 2013/14 campaign. As viewing habits have changed from solely linear TV to streaming and social media, NBC has doubled down on its coverage and accessibility of the league, whether through OTT platform Peacock or the continuation of its Premier League Mornings Live Fan Fest series.
Across all NBCUniversal platforms in English and Spanish, fans consumed 17.14 billion minutes of Premier League coverage in 2024/25, the second-most ever for a Premier League season in the U.S. For the full season, NBC Sports averaged a Total Audience Delivery (TAD) of 510,000 viewers per Premier League TV match window, marking a record fourth consecutive season with average English-language viewership topping 500,000.
To cap off the 'Summer of Soccer' in the U.S., the Premier League is playing the second edition of its Summer Series across the country. Featuring AFC Bournemouth, Everton, Manchester United and West Ham, the four clubs will play a series of double headers in New York/New Jersey, Chicago and Atlanta from July 26 to August 3.
The inaugural Premier League Summer Series in July 2023 welcomed more than 265,000 fans to venues.
The attendance for Summer Series match between Manchester-United West Ham at MetLife Stadium was ... More more than the Club World Cup Final between Chelsea and PSG two weeks earlier.
Despite this summer's participating clubs finishing no better than ninth (Bournemouth) in last year's Premier League standings, Manchester United-West Ham drew an attendance of 82,566 on July 26 at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., eclipsing the 81,118 for the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup Final between Chelsea and PSG at the same venue two weeks prior.
While NBC executives 'continue to push for' a Premier League match on U.S. soil, the country has been the focal point for international football as hosts of the 2024 Copa América, 2025 FIFA Club World Cup, 2025 Concacaf Gold Cup, 2026 FIFA World Cup (with Canada and Mexico), 2028 Olympics and 2031 FIFA Women's World Cup (with Mexico).
As the most-watched soccer league in the country, the Premier League looks to reap the benefits of its U.S. investment.
'The buzz gets everyone looking and seeing what's happening here,' Brown said at a Premier League Summer Series kickoff event at Classic Football Shirts NYC. 'Loads of Americans play football but when it's in the States and people are going to the games, it's an enjoyable day first of all, then you start to take an interest in the game.
'With the World Cup coming, it makes it even better as well.'
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