The World Cup is underway, which means late nights and early mornings watching this year’s tournament. Here are the best ways to keep up with it all this year.
FOX and FS1 will broadcast coverage, while Telemundo and Universo will offer Spanish-language coverage. You can stream these channels with fuboTV, Hulu + Live TV, Sling TV, or YouTube TV.
FS1
Fox Sports holds exclusive English-language rights to the World Cup tournament in the US, and FS1 has over half of the live broadcasts of it, providing extensive pre- and post-match analysis and pre-game coverage. Although its autumn start, compared with summer tournaments, presented challenges, such as an eight-hour time difference between Qatar and New York, Fox Sports managed to adapt and do this work.
Fans must decide whether they prefer staying up late or getting up early to watch games on FOX and FS1 via digital antenna or streaming TV service – such as fuboTV (buy a subscription here), DIRECTV STREAM, YouTube TV, Sling TV or Hulu + Live TV; Hulu offers superior cable bundles while adding ESPN+ and Disney+ provides even more excellent World Cup coverage.
Peacock will air the first 12 matches free. Still, after that, you must subscribe to either NBC’s ad-supported tier or pay $5 monthly for Peacock Premium to watch all remaining games – an ad-free version is now available through November 24. Additionally, Spanish speakers or those preferring viewing in another language can stream the tournament on Telemundo, while Hulu + Live TV provides access.
FS2
Fox Sports’ secondary World Cup channel will be FS2, broadcasting matches in English. FS2 boasts an experienced roster of broadcasters as well as former players and coaches like former Premier League referee Mark Clattenburg and commentator Geoff Shreeves; former soccer players Landon Donovan and Stu Holden will be joining him to offer expert analysis alongside play-by-play announcers Alexi Lalas and Clint Dempsey, and analysts Carli Lloyd and Mauricio Aragone.
Most matches will air between late night and early morning in the US, making it challenging to watch live. Luckily, there are numerous ways you can watch the World Cup; cable and free streaming services offer services dedicated to watching World Cup matches; an antenna may help provide local TV channels of games you want to see as well.
Tubi has secured the rights to air World Cup matches in the US and is offering 12 matches free, while 52 can be watched for premium subscribers only. You can watch games on any device, including phone, tablet, computer, and TV. It is an ideal solution for fans who wish to save their favorite matches for later watching or those living in areas with poor signal coverage. Depending on their subscription package and location, DIRECTV customers can access World Cup matches through various channels.
Telemundo
Telemundo will be present throughout every moment of the 2022 FIFA Women’s World Cup starting June 5, broadcasting every live match live across all 64 games on its TV networks, Universo, and app and featuring special editions of top news programs and sports shows.
The network will also maintain an on-site presence at each game with commentary teams reporting from every stadium and fan festival, in-venue hosting platforms for select high-profile matches, a studio show at Lusail Stadium, and traveling reporters who cover them from around the globe.
Telemundo’s social media reach reached 19.4 million actions throughout the tournament across Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok, making this record-setting number of interactions the highest ever by any Spanish-language sports network during a World Cup tournament.
NBCUniversal’s ad sales for the tournament have exceeded all expectations, with major advertisers such as Samsung, Volkswagen, and Xfinity signing up to advertise during Telemundo broadcasts of matches and other content across Telemundo during the competition. Furthermore, Telemundo will simul stream all games and ancillary content via Peacock Premium from various cable and streaming providers, with many offering free trial periods; more information on how to watch can be found by clicking here.
Universo
Universo is the Spanish-language broadcaster for this year’s World Cup and provides both a website and an app where viewers can watch matches live in Spanish. They also uploaded highlights and other videos onto Youtube until approximately seven months ago, when these were deleted due to site issues.
In the US, all 64 games will be broadcast live via television – 29 will be shown by Fox while 35 by Telemundo; both networks hold World Cup rights but distribute games differently; Fox will show games through free-to-air channel FS1 while Telemundo will do so through cable network Universo.
Cord cutters can find many World Cup matches on various streaming services such as FuboTV, Hulu + Live TV, Sling TV, and Video. Each offers FOX, FS1, and Telemundo channels as part of their channel lineup; some even provide these bundled with ESPN+ or Disney+ subscriptions. Sling TV shows an introductory offer whereby you can try their service for $20; therefore, if watching on a budget, this could be worth investigating further.
You can stream Universo games for free with their app on all devices. In addition, this app also hosts various other programs like Larrymania and El Dasa, which star singers who are trying their luck in the music industry.
