Where can you watch the World Cup if you’re in the United States this summer? During previous tournaments, the answer was pretty simple. But for the 2010 World Cup, the number of options to follow the tournament is enormous and can be quite confusing.
So, here’s our comprehensive guide and some tips on how you can experience each World Cup game whether you’re at home, at work or on the go.
World Cup On TV
ESPN and Univision have paid more than ever before to bring this World Cup to the American audience. All English-language World Cup games will be shown in high-definition on ESPN (44 games), ESPN 2 (10 games) and ABC (10 games). View the complete World Cup TV schedule. For the Spanish-language audience, all games will be shown between Univision and Telefutura.
For the English-language audience, ESPN has lined up 166 hours of re-aired World Cup matches that will be shown on ESPN Classic and ESPN2. All 64 games will be re-aired generally between 6pm to midnight ET each day. View the complete re-air World Cup schedule, which was just released by ESPN.
In addition to all of the World Cup games and re-aired games, expect to see a gigantic amount of World Cup features, news, documentaries and analysis on the ESPN family of networks. Fox Soccer Channel, meanwhile, will have an analysis show that will air after the final whistle of the last game of the day. The show, entitled “Ticket To South Africa,” will be hosted by Richard Keys – best known for his work on Sky Sports – and he’ll be accompanied by fellow Sky Sports colleague Andy Gray as well as additional analysis from Christopher Sullivan and Warren Barton. Fox’s Nick Webster will complement the program with analysis directly from South Africa.
World Cup On the Internet
Every 2010 World Cup game shown on ESPN and ESPN2 will also be available live online at ESPN3.com. Note, however, that the ten games shown on ABC will not be shown on ESPN3. Plus, not all ISPs have agreements with ESPN to make ESPN3 available to you, so be sure to test the site to ensure it works.
The good news is that Univision Online will stream all 64 games online for free with no strings attached.
In regards to World Cup 2010 matches being shown later, ESPN will make all 64 games available on its ESPN3 site shortly after each match ends. All 64 games will be available on-demand on ESPN3 for the rest of 2010.
World Cup At Pubs and Bars
The next best thing to being in South Africa is to watch the World Cup with fellow soccer fans. But where can you watch the World Cup in the United States? Your best bet is to consult the BigSoccer World Cup Parties site where there are more than 400 meetups scheduled throughout the States.
If you live in South Florida or you’ll be in the area during the tournament, be sure to attend the official EPL Talk World Cup viewing parties at Wowies.
World Cup On Radio
All of the World Cup games will be broadcast on ESPN Radio, which is syndicated nationwide. All 64 games will also be available via Sirius XM satellite radio. In addition to that coverage, all English-language World Cup broadcasts on Sirius XM will be streamed online. Subscribers can tune in through XM Radio Online, SIRIUS Internet Radio, and the SIRIUS XM App for iPhone, iPod touch, and several BlackBerry and Android-powered smartphone devices.
Note that World Cup play-by-play will be available to XM subscribers and SIRIUS subscribers with the “Best of XM” package.
Here are where the World Cup broadcasts on SIRIUS XM will appear including foreign language play-by-play: English broadcasts – XM channels 236/235, SIRIUS channels 214*/213*; German broadcasts – XM channel 237, SIRIUS channel 215*; Japanese broadcasts – XM channel 238, SIRIUS channel 216*; Portuguese broadcasts – XM channel 239, SIRIUS channel 217*; Arabic broadcasts – XM channel 243, SIRIUS channel 218*; Korean broadcasts – XM channel 244, SIRIUS channel 219*
‘*’ denotes “Best of XM” channel on SIRIUS.
World Cup on Handheld Devices
EPL Talk recently reviewed the FLO TV Personal Television device. Recently released, the handheld device brings all 64 World Cup games to you via a dedicated World Cup channel. For those of you who are trying to find ways to watch the World Cup, this is – in my mind – the perfect solution.
You can also get FLO TV through your mobile device (iPhones not included). For more details about the service and coverage from AT&T and Verizon, visit the FLO TV website.
World Cup On Twitter and iTunes
With this World Cup being the first one while Twitter is a new form of communication, it’ll be interesting to see how soon the World Cup can crash the Twitter platform. Expect a tidal wave of World Cup conversations to be happening in the Twittersphere this summer. We’re biased but we highly recommend that you follow World Cup Buzz on Twitter for the latest 2010 World Cup news and analysis.
And, at the same time, we highly recommend our daily World Cup Buzz Podcast which will bring you previews and reviews of every game thanks to Richard Farley, Kartik Krishnaiyer and Laurence McKenna.
While we tried to make this World Cup guide as comprehensive as possible, please let us know in the comments section below if we missed anything.
