BBC

Americans boycotting FOX's World Cup for BBC Radio 5 Live

Enough is enough. Soccer fans in the United States are so dissatisfied with FOX’s World Cup TV coverage that many are boycotting FOX’s World Cup for BBC Radio broadcasts instead.

Diehard soccer fans are furious at the dumbing down of FOX’s World Cup coverage. Instead FOX’s coverage only appeals to casual sports fans. So much so that someone could write a book chronicling all of the mistakes that FOX Sports have made, as well asthe negative feedback posted across social media and the web.

Hence, many soccer fans have had enough.

American soccer fans are seeking out alternatives

There’s no doubt that the visuals of FOX’s World Cup coverage are incredible. For instance, the studio set looks amazing. Similarly, so do the crisp broadcasts in 4K. However, the fun stops there when you start to listen to what they’re actually saying. Most of the actual analysis is mediocre to say the least.

Therefore, many soccer fans are turning to BBC Radio Five Live, the free radio station that streams over the Internet and apps worldwide. Before and after every game, BBC Radio 5 streams analysis and a variety of soccer experts discussing the games. Soccer fans have found that the analysis is far superior to the underwhelming pre-match and post-match chit-chat from FOX.

BBC Radio 5 streams live pre-match and post-match coverage of every single World Cup game. This way, you can skip FOX’s shoulder programming.

However, you’ll find that during games, BBC Radio 5 broadcasts are geo-blocked. In spite of this, soccer fans in the United States have found that VPNs can be used to unblock geo restrictions so you can listen to commentators, many of whom are familiar voices who announce Premier League games during the season.

Soccer fans freeing themselves from FOX Sports

Other fans are taking more radical steps to boycotting FOX’s World Cup.

Every World Cup game is available for streaming live and on-demand via Peacock Premium. Broadcasts are in Spanish, which feature more excitable and passionate commentaries. Many of the games feature the number one commentator on our shores, Andrés Cantor.

But if Spanish-language isn’t to your liking, you can listen to BBC Radio 5 match commentaries (accessible via a VPN) and sync up the audio and video together to see what a world-class World Cup broadcast sounds like.

Here’s a small sampling of what soccer fans are saying:

Guide to World Cup 2022

Here are some resources to help you get the most out of the biggest event in soccer!
TV Schedule: All the info on where and when to watch every game
The Groups: We breakdown each group and all the teams
The Kits: Check out what every team will be wearing on the field this fall
Predictor: Play out every scenario with our World Cup Predictor
World Cup Bracket: Map out the entire tournament, from the groups to the final
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