Finding soccer on TV United States feels like trying to solve a Rubik's Cube while blindfolded. Honestly, it’s a disaster. One minute you're watching the Premier League on a Saturday morning, and the next, you’re scrambling to find which obscure streaming service snagged the rights to a random midweek cup game. It shouldn't be this hard to be a fan.
You used to just turn on ESPN or Fox Sports and call it a day. Those days are dead. Now, we’re living in the "fragmentation era." If you want to follow the sport seriously in America, you basically need a spreadsheet and a very flexible budget.
It’s expensive. It’s confusing. But, if you know where to look, the sheer volume of matches available to us in the States is actually higher than almost anywhere else in the world, including England. You just have to navigate the paywalls first.
The Premier League and the NBC Monopoly
NBC Sports has owned the Premier League rights since 2013, and they recently doubled down with a massive $2.7 billion deal that keeps them as the home of English soccer through 2028. This is the gold standard. When people search for soccer on TV United States, they are usually looking for Liverpool, Arsenal, or Manchester City.
But here is the catch.
NBC spreads these games across three different platforms. You’ve got the big NBC broadcast channel for the marquee Saturday afternoon games. Then you have USA Network, which took over the heavy lifting after NBCSN was shut down. Finally, there’s Peacock.
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Peacock is where things get annoying for the casual viewer. NBC puts a significant chunk of games—often the ones featuring the "Big Six"—exclusively on the streaming app. You can’t get them on cable. If you’re a Newcastle fan or a Chelsea supporter, you basically have to pay for both a cable/OTT package (like YouTube TV) and a Peacock subscription. It’s a double dip.
Jon Miller, the guy at NBC Sports who helped broker the original deal, once noted that the goal was to make the Premier League feel "big" in America. They succeeded, but they also pioneered the model of "platform hopping" that every other league has since copied.
Apple TV and the MLS Revolution
If you want to watch Major League Soccer, forget everything you know about traditional television. In 2023, MLS signed a 10-year, $2.5 billion deal with Apple. It changed everything.
Basically, local blackouts are gone.
That’s huge. In the old days, if you lived in LA and wanted to watch LAFC, you might be blacked out because a local regional sports network (RSN) had the rights. Now, every single game is on the MLS Season Pass via the Apple TV app. It’s clean. The production value is high. But it’s another $15 a month (or $13 if you already have Apple TV+).
Is it worth it? For a hardcore fan, yes. For the person who just wants to flip on a game on a Wednesday night? Probably not. It has moved the domestic league into a silo. Unless you are "in" the ecosystem, you probably aren't seeing much MLS unless it’s one of the few games Fox Sports still broadcasts on FS1.
The Lionel Messi Effect
We can't talk about soccer on TV United States without mentioning the guy in Miami. When Messi joined MLS, the subscriptions for Apple's service reportedly doubled. The league is banking on a single superstar to drive people toward a subscription-only model. It’s a massive gamble on the "superstar economy."
Where Did the Champions League Go?
The UEFA Champions League—the absolute pinnacle of the sport—is currently parked at CBS. Most of the matches live on Paramount+.
CBS does something interesting, though. They’ve turned their studio show, UEFA Champions League Today, into a cultural phenomenon. Featuring Kate Abdo, Thierry Henry, Jamie Carragher, and Micah Richards, it’s arguably the best sports show on American television. It’s funny, it’s irreverent, and it feels human.
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But again, the games are mostly behind a login. While the final usually makes it to the big CBS broadcast network, the grueling group stages and the frantic "Golazo Show" (their version of NFL RedZone) require that monthly Paramount subscription.
La Liga, Bundesliga, and the ESPN+ Graveyard
ESPN+ is basically the "everything else" bin of soccer. If you love La Liga (Real Madrid, Barcelona) or the Bundesliga (Bayern Munich, Dortmund), you are an ESPN+ subscriber.
- La Liga: Every game is there.
- Bundesliga: Every game is there.
- FA Cup: Yep.
- EFL Championship: Most of it.
The interface is... fine. But it feels like these leagues have lost their "prestige" feel because they are rarely on the actual ESPN linear channels. You have to go looking for them. If you’re a fan of a team like Atletico Madrid, you’re watching 38 games a year on an app, not a channel.
The Problem With "Cable-Cutting" for Soccer Fans
Here’s the reality check. You cannot be a total soccer fan in the U.S. without spending a small fortune.
If you want the "Full Experience," your monthly bill looks something like this:
- YouTube TV or Fubo: $75 (For USA Network, FS1, Fox, CBS, ABC, ESPN, and beIN Sports).
- Peacock: $8 (For those exclusive Premier League games).
- Paramount+: $8 (For Champions League and Serie A).
- ESPN+: $11 (For La Liga and Bundesliga).
- Apple MLS Season Pass: $15.
That’s over $115 a month just to watch ball. It’s a joke.
Many fans have turned to "alternative" methods, but the leagues are getting better at cracking down on grey-market streams. The result? A lot of people just stop watching the leagues they don't have "the app" for. This fragmentation is actually hurting the growth of smaller leagues because nobody is "accidentally" discovering a Dutch Eredivisie match anymore. You have to seek it out.
Why beIN Sports is Still a Thing
You might wonder why anyone still pays for beIN Sports. It’s mostly for Ligue 1 (France) and the Turkish Super Lig. But let’s be real: without Messi and Mbappé at PSG, the interest in Ligue 1 in the U.S. has plummeted.
beIN is also notoriously hard to find. Most major cable providers like Comcast and DirecTV have dropped it or moved it to expensive "Sports Tiers." Most fans now access it through Fubo or Sling World Sports. It’s a niche within a niche.
Women’s Soccer is the New Frontier
The NWSL (National Women's Soccer League) just signed a massive new media rights deal that started in 2024. It’s a mix of Amazon Prime Video, Scripps (ION), CBS, and ESPN.
This is actually a smart move. By putting games on ION—a channel most people get for free with an antenna—the NWSL is aiming for reach rather than just raw subscription dollars. It’s the opposite of the MLS strategy. We’ll see in five years which one worked better, but for now, the NWSL is arguably the easiest league to watch for "free" in the U.S.
Navigating the Weekend Schedule
If you're trying to plan your life around soccer on TV United States, the time zones are your biggest enemy.
The Premier League usually kicks off at 7:30 AM ET on Saturdays. By the time the 10:00 AM games are ending, the Bundesliga and La Liga are in full swing. If you live on the West Coast, God help you. Watching a 4:30 AM kickoff in Los Angeles requires a level of commitment that most people reserve for their children.
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But there is a vibe to it. The "Premier League Mornings" culture is real. Bars in New York, Austin, and Chicago open at sunrise to serve Guinness and eggs to people in polyester shirts. It’s a community.
Actionable Steps for the American Soccer Fan
Stop overpaying for things you don't watch. Most people just reflexively pay for every app, but there’s a better way to handle the chaos.
- Rotate your subs. You don't need Paramount+ in July when the Champions League is off. Cancel it. Bring it back in September.
- Get a high-quality antenna. You can get your local NBC, Fox, CBS, and ABC affiliates for free in HD. This covers the biggest games of the year, including the World Cup and the Champions League Final.
- Check "Goal.com" or "World Soccer Talk" daily. Their schedules are the only way to keep track of which app is showing which game. Don't rely on your TV's built-in guide; it’s usually wrong about which sub-channel or app the game is on.
- Look into Fubo if you’re a "Total" fan. While YouTube TV is great, Fubo specifically tailors its packages to soccer fans, often including those hard-to-find international channels like beIN or TUDN.
- Use the "Multiview" features. If you use YouTube TV or Apple TV, learn how to use the quad-box view. It’s the only way to survive a Saturday morning when there are six matches you care about happening simultaneously.
The landscape of soccer on TV United States isn't going to get simpler anytime soon. If anything, with the 2026 World Cup coming to North America, expect even more tech giants like Netflix or Amazon to try and grab a piece of the pie. Stay nimble, keep your passwords organized, and maybe keep an extra pot of coffee ready for those 7:00 AM starts.
Start by auditing your current subscriptions today. Check which leagues are actually in season and kill the apps that are just sitting there draining your bank account while your favorite league is on winter break.