You just want the game. It’s a simple request, really, but between the Premier League, the Champions League, the FA Cup, and whatever else Pep Guardiola’s squad has decided to win this year, finding where can i watch manchester city feels like solving a Rubik’s cube in the dark. If you’re in the UK, it’s one thing. If you’re in the US, it’s a whole different headache involving three separate streaming apps. Honestly, the broadcast rights landscape is a mess of billion-dollar deals that basically punish the fan for being loyal to a single team.
City plays everywhere. They’re the team everyone wants to broadcast because, well, they usually win. But those rights are sliced up like a Thanksgiving turkey. One week you’re on Sky Sports, the next you’re on TNT Sports (formerly BT Sport for those who still haven't updated their internal dictionary), and by Wednesday, you’re hunting for an Amazon Prime login because they have a random midweek slate.
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The Premier League Maze
Most of the time, when people ask where can i watch manchester city, they mean the Premier League. This is where it gets expensive. In the UK, Sky Sports is still the king. They have the lion's share of games—usually the big Sunday afternoon slots and Saturday evenings. If you don't want a long-term satellite contract, you’re looking at NOW (the artist formerly known as Now TV). It's flexible, but it’s essentially paying a premium for the privilege of being able to quit whenever City goes on a dry spell.
Then there’s TNT Sports. They usually grab the 12:30 PM Saturday kickoffs. You’ve probably noticed that Pep hates these. He complains about the quick turnaround from midweek European games, and he's not wrong. But if City is playing on a Saturday lunchtime, you aren’t finding it on Sky. You need TNT.
Amazon Prime Video is the wildcard. They usually get two full rounds of fixtures—one in December around the holidays and another midweek set. If you already have Prime for the free shipping, it’s a win. If not, it’s another subscription to manage for just a handful of games. It’s frustrating. It's annoying. It's modern football.
Watching from the United States
Across the pond, things are slightly more streamlined but still require two different logins. NBC holds the keys to the kingdom here. Most Manchester City league games are either on the main NBC broadcast channel or USA Network. If it’s on those, you can usually stream it via the NBC Sports app or through a cable alternative like FuboTV or YouTube TV.
But—and there is always a "but"—Peacock is where the "overflow" lives.
If City is playing a bottom-half team at 10:00 AM ET on a Saturday, there’s a massive chance it’s exclusive to Peacock Premium. You can't watch it on cable. You can't watch it on the regular NBC app. You have to pay for the streamer. Honestly, Peacock has become a mandatory purchase for any serious Cityzen in the States because about 25% of their league season ends up there.
The Champions League Shuffle
When the midweek lights come on for the Champions League, everything changes. In the UK, TNT Sports has the exclusive rights to every single game. This is actually the simplest part of the puzzle. If City is in Europe, they are on TNT. Period.
In the US, it’s Paramount+. CBS Sports carries the broadcast, and while some of the later knockout stages might end up on the main CBS network, the group stages and early knockouts are almost entirely behind the Paramount+ paywall. If you’re looking for where can i watch manchester city during a Tuesday night clash in Munich or Madrid, grab a Paramount+ sub or find a local pub with a very specific satellite package.
Domestic Cups and the Randomness
The FA Cup and the Carabao Cup (League Cup) are the true outliers. In the UK, the FA Cup is actually free-to-air! This is a rare treat. The BBC and ITV split these games, meaning as long as you have a TV license, you can watch for free on BBC iPlayer or ITVX. It feels like a relic of a simpler time.
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The Carabao Cup is a Sky Sports exclusive. If City is playing a third-round match against a League One side on a Tuesday night, Sky is your only legal bet.
In the US, ESPN+ owns the rights to both the FA Cup and the Carabao Cup. It’s a solid deal, usually around $11 a month, and it covers a ton of other football too. If you’re a City fan in America, your "holy trinity" of apps is Peacock, Paramount+, and ESPN+. That covers 100% of the competitive matches.
The "Blackout" Problem
We have to talk about the 3:00 PM blackout in the UK. It’s a rule that’s been around since the 60s to protect stadium attendance. If Manchester City kicks off at 3:00 PM on a Saturday, the game is not broadcast live anywhere in the United Kingdom. Not on Sky, not on TNT, not anywhere.
This leads to the bizarre situation where fans in New York, Mumbai, or Sydney can watch City play live at 3:00 PM UK time, but fans living five minutes away from the Etihad Stadium cannot. It’s a massive point of contention. Most fans end up listening to BBC Radio 5 Live or Manchester City's own "Matchday Live" radio broadcast on their website. Or they wait for the "Match of the Day" highlights on BBC One later that night.
What About City+?
Manchester City has their own subscription service called CITY+. It’s great, but it’s rarely for live first-team competitive games. What you do get is:
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- Full match replays 24 hours after the whistle.
- Live coverage of the Women's team and the Elite Development Squad (EDS).
- Pre-season tour matches (these are usually exclusive here).
- High-quality documentaries like Together: Treble Winners.
If you can’t watch live and don't mind spoilers, a CITY+ subscription is actually the cheapest way to see every minute of the action, just on a delay.
Actionable Steps to Get Connected
Stop guessing and start prepping. If you want to ensure you never miss a kickoff, follow this workflow:
- Check the Official App: Download the Manchester City official app. It has a "Broadcasters" tab for every single fixture that detects your location and tells you exactly which channel has the rights in your specific country.
- The US Strategy: If you're in the States, get the "Big Three" apps: Peacock, Paramount+, and ESPN+. If you have a cable login for USA Network, you’re fully covered.
- The UK Strategy: Get Sky Sports and TNT Sports. For the FA Cup, ensure your BBC iPlayer and ITVX accounts are set up. If you hate contracts, use the NOW Sports Day or Month members.
- Sync Your Calendar: Go to the Manchester City website and use their "Sync Fixtures to Calendar" feature. It updates automatically when games are moved for TV, which happens constantly (usually about 4-6 weeks in advance).
- International Fans: If you are outside the UK/US, look for BeIN Sports (Middle East/North Africa), Optus Sport (Australia), or Star+ (South America). These providers usually hold all-in-one rights for the Premier League in their respective regions, making it much easier than the fragmented UK/US markets.
The era of "one channel for everything" is dead. Watching City in 2026 requires a bit of digital gymnastics, but as long as you know which trophy they're chasing that day, you can find the right stream. Keep your apps updated and your subscriptions on monthly cycles so you can cancel during the off-season.