NBC Sports Group and AEG, a global sports and live entertainment company, have teamed up to create the NBC Sports Pub Pass. The first-of-its-kind Pub Pass is a customizable over-the-top streaming service targeted to the U.S. retail pub, club and restaurant market. The exclusive, commercial-free subscription service offers premium content for soccer, rugby and cycling, including live event coverage and on-demand viewing.

NBC Sports Pub Pass subscribers will have access live events and on-demand replays:

• Rugby – Six Nations Championship, Champions Cup and Premiership Rugby. The Rugby World Cup will be available to add to the NBC Sports Pub Pass.
• Cycling – Tour de France, Vuelta a Espaa, Amgen Tour of California, Paris -Roubaix, and more

In addition, subscribers will get access to exclusive content not available on linear TV:

• Soccer – 140 live Premier League matches not available on broadcast, cable or satellite TV, plus full replays of those matches.
• Rugby – 185 live matches, not shown on linear TV (comprised of the events listed above)
• Cycling – extra hours of each stage of top races, not shown on linear TV

NBC Sports Pub Pass is a unique product that we are proud to have developed with our partner, AEG, to make premium international sport more accessible to U.S. viewers. We understand the importance and excitement of fans watching their favorite sports together, said Portia Archer, Vice President of Direct-to-Consumer Services for NBC Sports, in the announcement.

NBC Sports Pub Pass will support the traditions and strong communities within Premier League soccer, rugby and cycling, to make it easier for fans to watch together live or via replay on demand, Archer added.

According to the joint announcement made in early August, services like this are common in most international markets, but have not been offered in the United States until now. Thought NBC did not share pricing, they said the NBC Sports Pub Pass would be easily accessible and affordable for all establishments.

We are thrilled to expand our relationship with NBC Sports to bring the most popular and requested international sports to American audiences in their preferred neighborhood locations, said Dan Lyle, Director AEG Rugby. There is no substitute for the incredible atmosphere that is created when passionate fans get together in a pub or restaurant to watch their favorite sports and favorite teams and, with NBC Sports Pub Pass, there will never again be a blackout or any other barrier preventing sports fans from gathering to celebrate the most important matches and sporting events from Europe and around the world.

Key benefits of the all-in-one subscription include:

• A sports platform created specifically for commercial locations
• Affordable pricing in a single, annual subscription
• Live games and on-demand replays
• Exclusive content not available on linear TV
• Turnkey product – easy to set-up with the Amazon Fire Stick with NBC Sports Pub Pass pre-loaded
• Marketing Support, including print and digital marketing materials
• Customer service via phone and email
• No entrance fees to bar and restaurant patrons required

There arent any similar services that we are aware of in the U.S. However, there are direct-to-consumer streaming sports services available to individuals. Here are a few currently available:

• FuboTV which offers live TV including Fox Sports, the NFL Network, NBA TV, NBC Golf, soccer leagues including La Liga, Premier League, Champions League, MLS and others.
• ESPN+ with a daily selection of live sports (MLB, NHL, MLS, EFL, the U.S. Open, ESPN+ Originals on demand and more.
• Hulu Live which includes live sports such as NFL football, the NBC Sports Network, the CBS Sports Network, ESPN, NBC Golf and a personalized experience based on teams you follow
• NFL Game Pass with full broadcast replays, condensed games in 45 minutes, live out-of-market games and the NFL Films Archive

Insider Take:

As Awful Announcing points out in its analysis, this is an interesting twist on the direct-to-consumer streaming subscription which are typically sold to individuals, not to businesses. We assume that NBC Sports has priced the product sufficiently that they will see a profit, adding a new revenue stream to its other subscription services. If this experiment is a success, it is possible that other companies and networks will consider a similar offering.