How to Watch the World Cup (With or Without Cable)
The World Cup kicks off Thursday--but where can you catch all 64 games? Unless you live close to a sports bar committed to airing all the matches, it's kinda complicated, especially because cable providers have set up a lot of rules around who can watch what, and when.
Here's a quick guide to help get you through the next month of matches:
If you have a television and prefer English language broadcasts:
- Don't have cable? ABC will air a weird hodge-podge of just 10 games, mostly on the weekends--including the final game on July 13.
- Do have cable? ESPN and ESPN 2 will air the remainder of the games.
If you have a television and prefer Spanish language broadcasts:
- Univision will air all 64 matches. Univision is a cable channel, but the first 56 games are completely free. You'll have to pony up to catch the last eight matches, however--but you'll probably be hooked by then anyway.
If you'd rather stream the matches in English:
- With a very specific cable subscription, you can catch the games streamed via WatchESPN--or other devices, including your smartphone, Kindle, and more.
If you prefer streaming matches in Spanish:
- Univision will allow you to watch the first 53 matches online, on your iPhone, or on your Android for free! You'll need a cable subscription after that. Unless you're a Comcast subscriber--If that's the case, you're out of luck.
Still up in the air*:
- There are other options I'm looking into--Argentina's public television station TV Pública is airing half the matches, but I'm unclear whether they'll be available online in the U.S.
- TyC is airing the other half, but again, I'm unclear if they'll be available online.
- And there's also Fútbol Para Todos, although I hear you may need to download an app to make it work.
*These options aren't working in the U.S.