ESPN+ has acquired the streaming rights to the US Open Cup through 2022 in another deal that positions ESPN+ as the leading soccer streaming service in the United States.
The U.S. Open Cup is the longest-running domestic cup competition in the United States. All U.S. Open Cup matches from the First Round through the Final will air exclusively on ESPN+, the direct-to-consumer sports streaming service, beginning this year and running through the 109th edition of the tournament in 2022. The deal, negotiated by Soccer United Marketing (SUM) on behalf of the U.S. Soccer Federation, includes rights in all languages.
The 2019 U.S. Open Cup on ESPN+ kicks off May 7-8 with the First Round, featuring 38 amateur and Division III professional teams from across the United States. Twenty-five Division II professional teams enter in the Second Round on May 14-15, while the Third Round, scheduled for May 29, provides a final hurdle before lower division sides get their shot to square off against the 21 U.S.-based Major League Soccer (MLS) clubs on a national stage. Those Division I MLS teams join the competition in the Fourth Round on June 12.
First played in the 1913-1914 season, the competition is open to professional and amateur teams affiliated with U.S. Soccer. The winning team qualifies for the Concacaf Champions League and wins $300,000 in prize money. The team that advances furthest in the tournament from each lower division is also awarded prize money. While recent years have seen lower division sides come close to a winning run, the last non-MLS team to win the U.S. Open Cup since the league began in 1996 was the Rochester Rhinos in 1999.
With ESPN+, you can also stream Serie A, UEFA Nations League, 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.
ESPN+ is only $4.99/month.
In addition to all of the soccer coverage, ESPN+ also includes a selection of live games from MLB, MLS, NHL, select PGA TOUR golf, Top Rank Boxing and Grand Slam tennis from Wimbledon to the US Open and Australian Open. Plus you get instant access to your favorite college sports like football, basketball, lacrosse, softball and more.
There’s also the daily ESPN FC show, 30 For 30 documentaries, exclusive access to studio programs and more.
