When most people living in the US think about sports on TV they default to ESPN. The company launched its first cable channel back in 1979 and changed the whole landscape of televised sports. ESPN has always been at the forefront of innovation and actively chased after TV rights packages that would cement it as the Worldwide Leader in sports broadcasting. While ESPN is certainly best known for coverage of college sports and its ability to create marquee events from nothing (such as the NFL Draft) it is also a very active player when it comes to international soccer programming in the USA.
Soccer on ESPN Network Channels
ESPN has multiple channels covering all kinds of sports at the same time. When it comes to soccer however the coverage options are fairly straightforward. When watching on TV all games that are broadcast on ESPN in English will be on either ESPN or ESPN2. All televised soccer games that are on ESPN in Spanish will be on ESPN Deportes.
ESPN also offers soccer coverage streaming online. Depending on the league these games can be watched either live or via replay on ESPN3 and through the WatchESPN media platform. Both these channels offer broadcasts in either English or Spanish depending on the league rights held by ESPN. In particular cases there will be also an option for Portuguese language commentary for specific competitions.
UEFA Euro 2016 - European Championships
The flagship competition in ESPN’s library right now is the UEFA European Championship. Having lost out on the rights to the upcoming World Cup, ESPN is taking UEFA 2016 very seriously and is putting plenty of money into the event. All 51 matches will be broadcast on TV in English with 40 live on ESPN and the other 11 live on ESPN2. Spanish television viewers will be able to watch 45 matches live on ESPN Deportes. There will also be extended pre-game and halftime analysis of each game on both the English and Spanish broadcasts.
In addition all 51 games will be available live and on-demand in English and in Spanish via WatchESPN. In addition to the main broadcast the ESPN3 streaming service will have an additional four camera angles for each match, the Spider Cam feed, the Spider Cam triple-box feed, the Tactical Cam feed, and the Tactical Cam triple-box feed – offering fans alternate camera angles, experiences and stories around the game.
U.S. Men’s and Women’s National Teams
ESPN has the broadcast rights to half of the available U.S. Men’s and Women’s National Soccer team broadcasts from 2015 to 2022. The exact number of games here is unknown because away World Cup qualifiers are handled on a game by game basis through negotiations with the host broadcaster. These games will be shown on either ESPN or ESPN2. The rights are only for games in English. The same games are also available live and on-demand via WatchESPN, again with just the English broadcast available.
UEFA Champions League and Europa League
ESPN has the rights to some Champions League and Europa League games through a deal with Fox Sports. The English rights are limited to tier two group stage games that can only be watched streaming on ESPN3 and WatchESPN. These games can be accessed live or via replay.
The Spanish language options are more appealing. ESPN Deportes carries matches live on television and those games can also be watched live or replayed on WatchESPN. The coverage here is better for the Europe League than for the Champions League though. For example during the 2015-16 season both Europa League semi-finals were available to stream on WatchESPN, while only the semi-final played on a Tuesday was available for the Champions League.
MLS
ESPN shares the rights to MLS broadcasts up until 2022. During this period ESPN will air at least 34 regular season matches on an exclusive basis. This includes a Match of the Week airing on the network (usually on ESPN2) at 5 p.m. EST on Sundays. ESPN also has the rights to half of the MLS Cup Playoff matches and the MLS Cup itself alternates each year between ESPN and Fox. The same is true of the All-Star game.
Any game shown on ESPN will also be available on its digital platform via Watch ESPN. This means that the live and replay versions of the games will be available in English and Spanish. ESPN also has the rights to carry out of market games on ESPN3, but does not’t choose to do so regularly.
The Nations League
Perhaps the most intriguing competition in the ESPN portfolio is the brand new Nations League. This new concept takes the games that were previously European National team friendlies and instead turns those games into a full on competition with a champion and promotion and relegation between the groups of 54 European nations. Think a kind of Champions League but for national teams. ESPN has acquired the English and Spanish rights to this competition and will have games on ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPN Deportes, with more games available on WatchESPN and ESPN3.
Other Competitions:
ESPN also has the rights to a number of other competitions that are mainly found through the streaming service on ESPN3. These include the German and Russian Cups (in English and Spanish) and a couple of US developmental leagues in the NASL and the MASL. Games from those leagues are available via streaming and usually in English only. ESPN also has the rights to broadcast on ESPN Deportes (in Spanish only) any match hosted by Dorados de Sinaloa in the Mexican Liga MX.
Overall ESPN is a very good place to watch soccer in the USA. The dual broadcasting rights sometimes make finding games difficult, but when it comes to international level soccer ESPN is still the go to channel.
Watching ESPN online
ESPN offers extensive programming available to view online via WatchESPN or ESPN3. Availability is subject to users subscribing to participating TV providers or Internet Service Providers.
WatchESPN
WatchESPN requires a video subscription from an affiliated provider. Click here for a list of the current affiliates. With WatchESPN you get online access to live feeds from the following channels: ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN3, ESPNU, SEC Network, SEC Network +, ESPNews, ESPN Deportes, Longhorn Network, ESPN Goal Line and ESPN Buzzer Beater. The access you get is based on the subscription with an eligible affiliate video provider such as your TV provider or Online service provider. For a full list of participating providers click here. WatchESPN provides 24/7 live programming of ESPN networks on multiple platforms such as: computer, smart phone, tablet, Xbox, Apple TV, Google Chromecast, Amazon Fire TV and Roku.
ESPN3
ESPN3 is a live multi-platform digital network streaming thousands of live and on-demand sporting events annually, as well as replays of recent ESPN events. Many of the events on ESPN3 are exclusive broadcast on ESPN3, particularly when it comes to International football matches. ESPN3 is available via the web or on the WatchESPN app. Access to ESPN3 is available to subscribers of ESPN Networks on participating providers. For customers that are not subscribed to participating TV provider, access to ESPN3 programming is still available as long as they subscribe to a participating Internet Service Provider.
