Soccer (or football in the rest of the world!) is a game that is often overlooked in America, but it’s one of the most popular sports worldwide. It stands to reason that soccer fans would want to watch their favorite leagues and teams from around the world on TV, especially if you like to get together with friends and watch. But what streaming service should they use? That’s where we come in! We’re going to tell you all about our favorite streaming services for soccer, so read on!
Where Can I Find Soccer Streaming?
You can find soccer games from around the world spread over a multitude of streaming services, so it’s important to identify your location and level of interest! From the world cup to regional competition, there’s almost always someone, somewhere streaming it. Below we’re offering an overview of the top soccer streaming services- and what they cover.
ESPN+ | 5.99/Month
ESPN+ is far and away the best value for volume of soccer coverage.this service lets you stream games from Bundesliga, Serie A, UEFA Nations League, EFL Championship, League One, League Two, FA Cup, League Cup, Coppa Italia, Supercoppa Italiana, Eredivisie, Danish Superliga, Chinese Super League, Indian Super League, Australian A-League, Sweden’s Allsvenskan, MLS out-of-market games and USL.
FuboTV | 33.00/Month
FuboTV doesn’t have a standalone sports package, but their roster of sports channels puts them firmly in the top spot for total coverage. Among others, they offer NBCSN. NBC, FS1, FS2, FOX Soccer Plus, FOX, beIN SPORTS, beIN SPORTS en Español, beIN SPORTS Connect, TNT, TyC Sports, Universo, Univision, Univision Deportes Network, UniMas, Galavision, and Chelsea TV- meaning you can snag games from Premier League, LaLiga, Liga MX, World Cup, Women’s World Cup, MLS, UEFA Champions League, Europa League, Primeira Liga, Ligue Un, NWSL, Bundesliga, Copa Libertadores, Copa Sudamericana, Argentina Superliga, Turkish Super Lig, Swiss Super League, UEFA Nations League, Euro 2020 qualifiers, Ascenso MX, African Champions League and Africa Cup of Nations.
(They also get bonus points for their DVR service, which allows you to record live content for later viewing).
Paramount+ | 4.99/Month
Can’t miss a single UEFA game? Paramount+ streams every game of the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League and UEFA Conference League, making this a slim but need-to-have package for followers of UEFA.
Fanatiz | 7.99/Month
Fan of Latin American teams? You’ll want to add Fanatiz to your roster of soccer streaming services. They cover Argentinian, Chilean, Mexican and Peruvian leagues globally, and in the US specifically, they stream LaLiga, Ligue 1, Copa Libertadores, Primeira Liga, Argentinian Superliga, the Chilean first division league, and the Chilean Cup, among others.
Peacock Premium | 4.99/Month
Fanatic for the Premier League? Peacock Premium has exclusive rights to 175 Premier League games per season.
Sling Orange/Blue | 50.00/Month
Aside from regular TV programming, if you combine Sling Orange and Blue in a single package, you also receive access to both FOX and ESPN.
Hulu + Live TV | $65.00/Month
Looking for a hub for the big name sports streamers? Consider Hulu + Live TV. They offer access to NBC, FOX, and ESPN channels.
YouTubeTV | $65.00/Month
If you have a subscription to YouTubeTV, you can pay extra fees to mix and match your dream soccer streaming service, though it may get pricey, as each service is another $15. This includes Fox Soccer Plus, Premier League Soccer, and FS1.
Paid vs. Free Soccer Streaming Services: Which is Better
If you’re willing to tolerate spotty coverage and poor video, you can usually find most soccer games streamed live on the internet, at sites such as First Row Sports, Live Soccer TV, and Real Stream United. The trade off, of course, is the lack of quality visuals. Dedicated soccer fans will typically find that a streaming service is well worth the cost to save on the time and frustration of finding free streaming soccer matches on the internet.
Considerations for Next Season
Still not satisfied with the offerings listed above? Wait a season. Streaming channels are finding that sports fans are some of the most dedicated subscribers out there, and there is hot competition right now to secure the rights to feature all sorts of sports on streaming services- from soccer in Japan to soccer in Australia and beyond. In fact, you might be surprised to see that your favorite streaming services has recently picked up rights to stream soccer matches- all without you subscribing to a single new service!
Best Soccer Streaming Service Overall
This is a category that is changing daily, but presently, we recommend Fubo TV for die-hard soccer fans. Their depth and breadth of coverage is the best in the market at present, and their regular TV offerings and DVR service make them well worth the $33.00 subscription fee.
You don’t need cable anymore to watch sports. Cord-cutters can still stream the biggest games, including DirecTV Stream, YouTube TV and other live TV streaming services. But finding the right streaming service for you can be a pain. Not every service carries local regional sports networks, so you might not be able to catch your favourite team’s games.
For example, Boston-area hockey fans looking for the Bruins or Major League Baseball fans hoping to catch the Red Sox need NESN to view the majority of their games. That’s even if they subscribe to a league-sponsored, sport-specific package such as MLB TV, which doesn’t cover in-market games.
DirecTV Stream is the one exception to this among streaming services. It has nearly every RSN, particularly the Bally Sports (formerly Fox Sports) channels offered by Sinclair, but the company increased its prices earlier this year, and you’ll need to spring for its now $90-a-month plan to access them.
However, once your sport reaches the playoffs, games tend to shift from smaller, regional channels to those that reach a national audience and tend to be included in most TV packages. The NBA is one of the major exceptions to this, as you’ll still need access to NBA TV — which generally costs extra — in order to catch every first-round playoff game. Also, some sports, like Formula 1 racing, feature all of their contests on one national network, such as ESPN.
Depending on location, diehard sports fans might ultimately save more money by getting a cable subscription, as your RSNs come bundled with ESPN, TBS, TNT and other local channels. This could especially make sense if the package is bundled with the home internet you’ll likely be getting anyway.
If you’re a determined cord-cutter or know that you only need one or a few channels to get your sports fix, here are the best streaming services for you.
Sarah Tew/CNET
DirecTV Stream
Carries ESPN, ABC, Fox, CBS, NBC, TBS, TNT, FS1 and, in the $90 package, most RSNs and league channels
DirecTV Stream is expensive. It’s the priciest of the five major live TV streaming services, but it’s also the one with the most RSNs and offers the most for sports fanatics. Its cheapest, $70-a-month Plus package includes the major networks as well as ESPN, TNT, FS1 and TBS. You’ll need to move up to the $90-a-month Choice plan to get any available RSN and many league channels such as the Big Ten network and NBA TV. Though DirecTV is currently offering $15 off the first two months on both plans. You can use its channel lookup tool to see which local channels and RSNs are available in your area.
Sarah Tew/CNET
ESPN Plus
Full out-of-market package for NHL, global soccer, UFC pay-per-view events, select MLB baseball games, tennis, golf
ESPN’s stand-alone streaming service is great for casual sports fans and is a must-have accessory for hockey zealots. It costs $10 a month or $100 a year and shows all out-of-market NHL games. It’s also included as part of the $14-a-month Disney bundle, as well as in the Hulu Plus Live TV package.
ESPN Plus is heavily invested in global soccer, hosting LaLiga games from Spain and Germany’s Bundesliga. It’s also the home of some English soccer: the FA Cup, the Carabao Cup and the Community Shield, along with the EFL Championship — which is the league below the Premier League. The company used to carry all out-of-market MLS games, but lost the package to Apple after the completion of the 2022 season.
ESPN Plus doesn’t show any live NBA basketball or NFL football games, but it does offer coverage of Wimbledon and the US Open. During the MLB baseball season, the service carries select out-of-market Major League baseball games as well as unlocking the MLB Archives of classic games. It also offers some NCAA football and basketball, as well as the Little League World Series for fans looking to watch up-and-coming athletes. Some UFC matches are included as part of the subscription, with pay-per-view matches usually requiring an extra fee.
The service is also home to exclusive shows, such as Peyton’s Places starring Peyton Manning, and the vast 30 for 30 library. As an added inducement, the subscription removes the paywall on the ESPN website, giving you access to all online articles and reporting.
There’s something here for most sports aficionados and it’s almost a necessity for hard-core hockey and UFC fans.
Ty Pendlebury/CNET
FuboTV
YouTube TV
Carries ABC, CBS, Fox, NBC, ESPN, FS1, FS2, TBS, TNT, 4 RSNs and most league channels
YouTube TV costs $65 a month and offers four RSNs, along with FS1, FS2, ESPN, TBS, TNT and all of the major national networks. The standard package includes just about every league channel with the exception of the NHL Network. There is an additional Sports Plus package, but it doesn’t offer much other than BeIn and NFL Red Zone, so you might be able to skip it. Plug in your ZIP code on YouTube TV’s welcome page to see which local networks and RSNs are available in your area.
Sunday Night Football, the Olympics, Premier League soccer, WWE, Indy Car, golf
Peacock, owned by NBC, offers some live sports to go along with its on-demand entertainment. The $5-a-month Premium tier gives users access to English Premier League soccer, the Olympics, Sunday Night Football, select WWE events, Indy Car races and some PGA golf tournaments. The service also airs a few other less popular sports, such as rugby, figure skating, cycling and track and field. Access to Sunday Night Football is great during the season, but for most of the year the platform is best suited for soccer and wrestling fans.
Sports streaming service FAQs
Don’t some on-demand streaming services show live sports too?
Yes. Hulu and Amazon Prime all air live sports once in a while, but their sports offerings are currently fairly limited.
Hulu has started streaming select NHL hockey games on its regular service, but it tends to save most of its sports streaming for its Hulu Plus Live TV package.
Amazon Prime Video has partnered with the NFL to exclusively stream Thursday Night Football this season. This means that anyone who wants to watch their team play on Thursday night will need to be an Amazon Prime member. This could be important for fans while the season is in action, but the platform doesn’t offer too much else during the rest of the year. Prime airs a few WNBA games over the summer, but that’s about it.
While these services do air some sports offerings, they focus mainly on on-demand entertainment. This might change in the future, but right now they don’t offer too much specifically for sports fans.
Is there a lag or delay when streaming sports live compared with cable?
There is. The streaming delay is often as long as 40 seconds, compared with around 5 seconds for cable and satellite.
This might be particularly worrisome for those with Twitter, group chats and phone push notifications, where a delay of this length can lead to spoilers of big plays. It could also potentially make it difficult for sports bettors to get in on the action. If you plan on betting, it might be a good idea to watch your game via cable or satellite.
Turning off your phone’s notifications and staying away from Twitter will let you stream your games without spoilers. Sure, your friends might try to call and text to brag about the score, but you can always choose to ignore them while you watch.
Can I cancel my subscriptions when the season is over?
Yes. All of these services are free of contracts and you can cancel at any time. Some offer free trials or special introductory discount memberships, which you will only get to use once. If you cancel and return at a later date, you will most likely have to pay full price. That said, you might not need a particular service year-round, which might make temporary cancellation an appealing way to save a few bucks.
How do I access these services on my devices?
All of the services on this list have apps that you can download. You will need a smart TV or a streaming device to watch the content on your TV. Just search for the name of the service on your smart TV or device. ownload the app on your TV. enter your sign-in information, and you should be ready to stream.
You can also download the apps of these services on your phone, iPad or Android device for streaming around the house or on the go.
