Football, as it’s known outside the United States, or soccer, as we call it, is the world’s most popular sport and is watched by tens of millions all around the world, every hour of every day. From grassroots games to the top echelons, there’s something about the spirit of soccer that resonates – even here, where it’s less popular than its American counterpart.
This popularity means that wherever you live and whoever your favorite team is, watching matches is easy if you know where to look. To keep track, check out a TV listings guide like LiveSport.Center live football guide.
Some soccer matches are available on ‘free to air’ TV, but generally – as with a lot of other sports – if you want to watch regularly you’ll need a paid subscription. Which one you need depends on what you’d most like to watch.
If it’s the English Premier League you’re looking for (and many are, as it’s generally considered to be the best soccer league in the world and is the most-watched football league in the United States) then you need NBC Sports Group, which has exclusive rights to airing Premier League games through at least the end of the 2020/21 season.
Most matches are on NBCSN, or NBC; in keeping with current developments in streaming, you can also buy a Premier League Pass from NBC Sports Gold.
The Spanish league, La Liga, is also very popular in the United States and can be watched on beIN Sports Espanol, a Spanish-language network, and the English-language counterpart channel beIN Sports. beIN is a reasonably little-known network, but won the right to show La Liga matches ahead of bigger networks like FOX and ESPN.
Outside of soccer, the major networks still have the best options for watching sports – and many now have streaming subscription platforms too, for people who prefer to watch online or on a computer.
The United States has both national and regional sports channels, so it’s worth checking out what’s available in your region (and if regional channels are included in your cable package) so all your bases are covered.
If you’re a person who likes specific sports, rather than just watching sports in general, you may be in luck as several sports have dedicated cable channels; Tennis Channel, for example, Golf Channel or even Ski Channel.
Some universities have their own channels too, with Longhorn Network being dedicated to showing only varsity games played by teams of the University of Texas, Austin.
The options really are endless, and many cable providers will let you tailor your channels to your requirements. You may end up with a few extras as part of a package deal, but you never know – one might be the favorite you never knew you had.
One of the best options for streamers is Fubo TV, which features more than 90 sports channels. It’s definitely one for committed sports fans though – it costs nearly $45 per month! Hulu also has a great streaming package for a little less money, or ESPN+ is great for watching on a budget.