The two biggest misconceptions about streaming soccer are, one, many of the games aren’t available via streaming, and, two, you can’t watch the games on television.
Both of these are untrue. First, there’s more soccer available via legal streaming now than ever before. Practically every soccer league worth its salt is available on a variety of soccer streaming services (we continue to update the master list of where you can find the leagues and competitions).
Secondly, any of the games you watch on streaming can be viewed on your television set by taking a couple of extra steps. To walk you through the options, watch the how-to video we created.
Oftentimes, the quality of the legal stream is comparable to cable/satellite. Or, in some cases, it’s even better.
The rankings of the top 10 streaming services for watching soccer are based on my experiences with all 10. I’ve been a cord cutter for almost two years, and have been legally streaming soccer games for 13 years since 2006 (in the days of Setanta Broadband, Setanta-i and — later — FOXSoccer.tv).
Here are the top 10 streaming services for watching soccer:
Disclaimer: Everyone has a different opinion, so some of these legal streaming services may rank higher or lower depending on what leagues you like to watch.
1. ESPN+
At $4.99/month, ESPN+ is the most affordable streaming service for sports fans. At that price point, it’s hard to pass up on the opportunity.
With ESPN+, you can watch the following leagues and competitions: 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. On top of that, you get the ESPN FC news and analysis show — the best daily soccer show in the United States — as well as a ton of coverage from other sports.
ESPN+ ranks number one in my opinion based on the cost-effective price, the reliability and quality of streams, as well as the wealth of leagues and competitions that are available to soccer fans.
Start your free 7-day trial to ESPN+.
2. fuboTV
Out of all of the streaming services available, fuboTV has the widest selection of soccer leagues and competitions. The only glaring omission is ESPN. But other than that, it has everything from 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, Chelsea TV and more than 70 other channels.
Technologically speaking, fuboTV is a leader in the space as it continues to provide ease of use through its DVR functionality, sleek design, availability on all of the leading apps as well as broadcasting select games in 4K.
The other major benefit of fuboTV is that it has more local stations than other streaming services, so you can access your local FOX, CBS, NBC, Telemundo, Univision channels and more.
As far as the leagues and competitions they broadcast, they include: 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.
fuboTV is not for everyone, but it offers a variety of different packages to choose from that cater to most consumers.
Start your free 7-day trial to fuboTV.
3. Sling TV
Owned and operated by DISH, Sling TV is an ideal replacement for cable or satellite. The streaming service offers a long list of channels that start at $25/month with your choice of Sling Orange or Sling Blue. For soccer fans, the big difference is that Sling Orange has the ESPN channels, while Sling Blue has the FOX channels. But you can subscribe to both Sling Orange + Sling Blue for $40/month.
From there, you can pick and choose additional services and options to add such as DVR or other packages that include other channels.
While the user interface isn’t the greatest, Sling TV is a reliable streaming service that is worth checking out for cord cutters. They’ve been in the streaming business since 2012, so they know how to maintain a reliable platform with high-quality streams.
Start your free 7-day trial to Sling TV.
4. PlayStation Vue
PlayStation Vue has been through a rollercoaster ride as a streaming service as an early innovator in bringing so many channels to consumers despite a lack of marketing and a confusing name (you don’t need a PlayStation in order to stream anything on the service).
Service has been good, but changes to channel lineups have been frustrating. That includes the removal of beIN SPORTS and beIN SPORTS en Español, which means that major leagues such as LaLiga, Ligue 1, Copa Libertadores and Copa Sudamericana aren’t on PS Vue.
Start your free 7-day trial to PlayStation Vue.
5. Fanatiz
Fanatiz specializes in streaming many of the soccer leagues from Latin America.
Fanatiz streams the Argentinian, Chilean, Mexican and Peruvian leagues globally. And in the case of the US specifically, they stream the Argentinian Superliga, the Chilean first division league and Chilean Cup.
After the free trial, they charge a monthly subscription of $9.99. All of the commentaries are in Spanish, and the streaming is high quality.
Start your free 14-day trial to Fanatiz.
6. DIRECTV NOW
Even though DIRECTV NOW has one of the most unique and beautifully-designed programming guides, the streaming service is in decline after losing a large number of subscribers.
The streaming service, which is completely separate from DIRECTV, has a myriad of streaming packages to choose from, many of which include soccer-related channels. However, DIRECTV NOW does not carry beIN SPORTS or beIN SPORTS en Español.
Start your free 7-day trial to DIRECTV NOW.
7. B/R Live
B/R Live (aka Bleacher Report Live) has had a turbulent time since it’s launch in 2018. Reliability and functionality have been poor, but it’s early days yet for this fledgling streaming service.
For soccer fans, B/R Live offers all of the Champions League and Europa League games. Plus there’s the Scottish Premiership and other niche leagues available. One added benefit of B/R Live is that they offer a pay-per-game option for matches, which can help you keep costs down if you don’t watch a lot of soccer.
No free trial is available to B/R Live.
8. NBC Sports Gold
We’re not fans of NBC’s decision to charge soccer fans to watch 34% of the Premier League games, but despite not offering a month-to-month option, the $50 charge per season isn’t so bad when you consider it’s the lump sum of paying $5 per month from August through May when the Premier League teams are in action.
In addition to the 34% of Premier League games not available on TV, NBC Sports Gold’s Premier League Pass also features some additional Premier League news programs that are exclusive to the streaming service.
For die-hard fans of the Premier League, NBC Sports Gold is a must-have.
From time to time, NBC Sports Gold offers a sneak preview of the streaming service. Learn more about NBC Sports Gold.
9. YouTube TV
Given that YouTube TV doesn’t have beIN SPORTS, YouTube TV is not everyone’s cup of tea. But the streaming service is a cost-effective replacement for cable television.
Another concern about YouTubeTV is how committed their parent company, Google, is about the service. In recent years, we’ve seen Google launch several products, only to shut them down later (Google Reader, Google+, Google Buzz, Google Wave, Google Talk, etc).
One more negative about YouTube TV is that it’s not available on the Amazon Fire Stick.
What YouTube TV does have going for them is a great app for mobile phones as well as exclusive local rights to LAFC games if you live in the Los Angeles market.
YouTube TV offers a 14-day trial to the service. After that, it starts at $40/month.
10. FOX Soccer Match Pass
The most overpriced soccer streaming service for what you get in return is FOX Soccer Match Pass. For $20/month, you gain access to the Bundesliga and select MLS/USA games.
If you’re a fan of the Bundesliga, this is the streaming service for you because you get every single game.
FOX Soccer Match Pass offers a free 7-day trial.
Honorable mention: DAZN
Pronounced “Da Zone,” DAZN is one of the most exciting new debutants to the world of streaming. As of press time, they only have the rights to the J-League, AFC Asian Cup, AFC Champions League and Chilean league, but the streaming service has big plans for the United States as they plan on acquiring more rights very soon.
Start your subscription to DAZN.
Great list, have grandfathered Fubo for $14-very happy with that, lost Bein on Comcast, have on Fubo but picked up Sling International for $44 a year for all the Connect channels, and of course Espn Plus is a must have. Used to have Fox soccer match pass but as you indicated it’s quite worthless these days for most of us.
Have tried most of them, and have stuck with Fubo, even though it costs almost $50/month. Here’s why:
I’m a New England Revolution supporter who lives 250 miles away from Foxborough, Mass.–in northern Vermont, to be precise. I was a happy MLS Live subscriber in years past. I understand the reason for a blackout policy and never complained, because while I technically live in the New England region (although nearly four hours away from Gillette by car), I could count on being able to see Revs games on MLS Live if a) they were playing on the road, and b) the match was not being carried live on one of the national networks (which Revs games rarely are).
So when MLS Live got consumed by the Disney tsunami and landed on ESPN+ I dutifully signed up for a subscription–a subscription I canceled when the free-trial period was over. I could not understand why Revs games showed in my ESPN+ account as blacked out when the game was being played on the road and not being broadcast on a national network. Well, I was told by a customer-service person at ESPN+ that on their service I would be blacked out of EVERY Revs game, regardless of where they are playing or who’s carrying the live broadcast! And I would not be able to watch any Revs game *even as a replay* until 48 hours after the game had been played.
Needless to say, this policy is completely absurd. I do not have a cable TV service, and was perfectly willing to pay $5/month for ESPN+ provided things were run in a reasonable fashion, like they used to be on MLS Live. But this blackout policy is bull****. The league and ESPN+ made a horrible mistake setting the service up like this. I’m not paying a dime to watch a soccer match I can’t see until 48 hours after it’s been played. Until someone tells me this policy has been changed, then no ESPN+ for me.
So why Fubo? Because they carry NBCSports Boston 🙂 On Fubo I can watch EVERY Revs match–even home games!–because they are all broadcast on NBCSports Boston unless nationally televised, which Fubo gives me anyway. Fubo also carries all of my local (Vermont) broadcast channels. I’m also a movie buff, and Fubo offers great cinema channels including TCM, IFC, and Sundance. And even at the price, Fubo is cheap compared to cable.
ESPN+ is first place by a mile. It is like Manchester City and the rest of the Premier League in the 2017-2018 season.
ESPN+ is by far the best value and it will only get better . I expect it will get the English coverage of the Copa America in the summer .
And ironically, no Premier League, no Champions League, no LaLiga on ESPN. But if you’re really into Chinese or Swedish soccer, they have you covered! How is this number 1 on anyone’s list?? Value? It’s like a shirt on sale for $3 that you put in your closet and never wear. How is that a value?
Like others have said, ESPN+ is the best value and should get better as they get more subscribers.
If Fubo had ESPN, I would go back to them. The cost is not that much different between other carriers. I currently have Sling and it cost about the same. All the “extras” to get what you really want to watch has it’s cost. If Fubo had ESPN, I would rate it #1.
I think Fanatiz should be lower since it no longer has Copa Libertadores. I only speak English and do not understand spanish but I did subscribe to Fanatiz for most of last year for the Copa Lib. Since I get TyC with Sling, I get a lot of the Argentina’s League matches
I have not subscribed to BR Live, If BR Live was at the same price point of ESPN+, I think I would. I get Univision OTA and I can DVR all the Champions League Games but there are in Spanish.
I have not subscribed to NBC Sports Gold either, I get enough matches on NBC and NBCSN for my fill of EPL (I’m a bigger La Liga fan).
I do not watch Bundesliga, so I’m not sure how Fox Soccer Match Pass even made the list since it is at $20.00 a month. Bigger matches normally on Fox, FS1, and FS2. When ESPN+ is $5.00, Fox is stupid for charging so much. DAZN at $10 would be a better choice for matches that I can not watch on some other channel.
Granted, I’m a La Liga fan but I’m surprised that Sling’s World Sports is not on the list or mentioned in the “Sling” article. $10.00 for ALL beIN Sports channels, with La Liga and Copa Libertadores it’s a good offering. With CAF Champions League/Confed Cup, Turkish Super League and Ligue 1 it should have atleast been mention since this is the cheapest way of getting beIN Sports.
Does anyone provide Scottish Premier League matches in the USA? I have not found it anywhere online or on cable.
Bleacher Report has the SPFL. ESPN+ has the Cup
Have tried FuboTV, Sling, and YouTube in the past. Been a subscriber of Hulu Live for over a year now. Never had any problems with picture quality or downtime. It’s not the cheapest at $39.99 but also includes Hulu originals & catalogue. ESPN channels, FS1 & 2, NBC Sports, TNT. Limited to two streams at the same time for live television though.
Maybe Fubo & Sling have improved but they were either buggy or had not the best picture quality when I tried them. YouTube was good but as mentioned in article doesn’t work with Amazon products.
Any information on Yahoo Sports and the CONCACAF Champions league? I like that tournament, how can we watch in Spanish or English?
Here’s more info: https://sports.yahoo.com/watch-2019-scotiabank-concacaf-champions-league-yahoo-sports-171626535.html
Thank you. I watched some CONCACAF champion’s league on Thursday. The web page on Yahoo sports worked great, good picture and commentary when I had the volume on. I tried to get the Yahoo app on my old Apple TV and Roku to show the games but they were not listed anywhere on the app and thus I couldn’t get it going on TV. Yahoo sports need to get these on their app.
I really like the CONCACAF champions league, it is entertaining and I love the unique locations and conditions. I’ll copy this on comment on the podcast link.
While I feel your pain with YTTV not being on the Fire TV platform, don’t forget about TV Everywhere apps. I routinely use Fox Sports Go, ESPN, NBC Sports, plus B/R Live on my stick with the YTTV credentials and subscriptions.
Does anyone know where you can find Chilean Primera League matches? I thought they were picked up by DAZN.
Games are available via the streaming service Estadio CF (in Spanish) and DAZN (in English).
As of February 23 when my DAZN USA subscription expired there had still been no matches available on the service. Customer service informed me that they had no plans to carry the Chilean League.
Thanks for your response and all your work on this fantastic site.
Let me check Edgar. According to my contact at DAZN, they have the rights to the league, but let me get back to you.
Edgar, according to DAZN, their rights to the Chilean league and cup ended in December, so Estadio CF is the only place to stream the games from now on.
NBC Sports Gold PL Pass is $19.99 right now for the remainder of the season. You can disable the automatic renewal as well.
Maybe this is a new “feature” since the original article was posted, but I just signed up for fubo and games cannot be truly streamed. In particular, even pre-recorded games must be watched “in real time” – no fast forwarding (all commercials, halftime, etc.) and no rewinding (missed that goal and want to see more buildup than the replay shows? suck to be you…). By far the worst of it though, is that if you encounter a streaming error – which I did several times with 60+ Mbps service – the stream starts over from the beginning. I was 20 min into the second half of a match and paused for a minute, hit play again and got a friendly error message like “we’re having trouble finding your video”, then it very helpfully started over from the beginning of the match. No fast forwarding, no cached video, nothing. So for me this simply doesn’t work. Really bummed too because it has all the channels I want to watch, including Big Ten Network and local sports on Fox. But this functionality is a joke.
Hi Larry, I would recommend that you give fuboTV Support a call or send them an email so they can problem solve your issue. I’ve been watching several games on fuboTV this weekend and have encountered none of the issues you mentioned. You can reach fuboTV Support at 1 (844) 441-3826 or support@fubo.tv
Thanks for responding Christopher. Were you able to FF or RW while watching these games?
It seems like what I experienced is the intended behavior of the service, minus the streaming interruptions. I.e., it seems designed to mimic the “olden days” of live tv with a VCR (ok they call it a DVR, but really it’s all virtual since there’s no hardware storage on my end). You can “record” games if you “program” your virtual DVR in advance – for each individual game (unlike cable where you can set an actual DVR to record every game on a certain channel). Here’s a link that elaborates:
https://www.reddit.com/r/fuboTV/comments/83b51h/wtf_happened_to_fast_forward/
I hope I’m wrong about all this and just missing something. I really just want BTN, MLB, NBC Gold (Premeir League), and Bein Sports (LaLiga). Anything else is gravy for me. I can swallow $65 a year for NBC Gold, and fubo seems to provide the rest – if it works. Sling doesn’t have BTN. Right now it looks like PS Vue is my best bet,
The Reddit article you linked to is one year old.
I was able to rewind during the games if I missed something, and then fast forward back to live TV, yes. But most channels and coverage that you watch on-demand, you can fast forward. There are some channels where this isn’t allowed, but this is not fuboTV’s fault. There are channels that refuse to allow fast-forwarding. ESPN is one example across all streaming platforms (unfortunately ESPN isn’t on fuboTV).