FoxSoccer.tv and ESPN360.com Product Review

I recently got the opportunity to sit down and spend some time reviewing a few products that are integral to the football viewing public across the globe. FoxSoccer.tv and ESPN360.com are both online broadband sites that bring the beautiful game to the masses. ESPN360 is available only to customers whose Internet Service Providers have paid ESPN for the service, thus making the service free to certain cable and Internet customers. Outside of the US, the service is available to both subscribing and non subscribing ISP’s and available as a monthly subscription.

FoxSoccer.tv is currently only available for purchase in the United States. Cost for full access to the site varies due to the time a potential subscriber wishes to view matches on the site. The three tiers available are day passes, monthly passes and full season passes. Visit the FoxSoccer.tv website for full information on rates.

One obvious difference between the two sites are the amount of sports on offer. ESPN360.com offers a variety of different sports including but not limited to, college basketball, American football, cricket, golf, tennis, horse racing and even yacht racing. For me, the one downfall to ESPN360.com is that although there is a wide amount of football available to members of the site, ESPN360.com currently doesn’t offer the Barclays Premier League.

Some of the competitions available on ESPN360.com are, Carling Cup, Serie A, La Liga, German Bundesliga, Eredivisie, International Friendlies, the Football League and loads more.  While recently watching the Ruhr Derby, which features German clubs Borussia Dortmund and Schalke 04, I was impressed in how much prematch and halftime footage is shown. The footage itself really allows the viewer to get a good feel for the atmosphere around the grounds without hearing voice overs from commentators just looking to fill space. The footage also allows viewers to watch players warming up, taking their pre match kick abouts, and the recent International Friendly featuring USA v Netherlands featured the entire pre-show broadcast.

FoxSoccer.tv offers a wide selection of only football and rugby. There may be a little give and take if you’re a football fan of all the major European leagues as neither site offers them all. For instance, FoxSoccer.tv offers the Premier League, Serie A, UEFA Champions League, Coca-Cola Championship, FA Cup and more, but doesn’t offer Spain’s La Liga or the German Bundesliga like ESPN360.com does. However, FoxSoccer.tv does in fact offer the Argentinian league, CONCACAF Champions League and the Hyundai A-League, which is Australia’s top-flight soccer league.

One of my favorite features that both sites offer is the ability to watch matches on demand. It would be odd that I’d forget to set my DVR, but on the outside chance the match in question was a casualty of my memory, I could easily access either site and search for what I’ve missed.

For Rugby fans, the Heineken Cup, Guinness Premiership and Magners League are all available on FoxSoccer.tv (did anyone get the odd but immediate thought of a beer there?). The availability of Rugby at FoxSoccer.tv coincides with the recent launch of Fox Soccer Plus and the channels ability to grow their customer base by offering the highly popular sport of Rugby.

I’m new to both of these online football sites since I’ve subscribed to DirecTV for a number of years. I’ve got all the football I can handle with the channels the satellite service offers. However, due to the easy access and user friendly navigation both sites offer, I’ll be sure to use both again in the future.

If you’ve been a fan or long time user of either site currently or in the past, feel free to leave a comment below telling us your thoughts, likes, dislikes and opinions. As always, enjoy your football.