How Best to Watch the World Cup, According to a Reddit Megathread of Streams
No TV necessary.
One of best parts of watching the FIFA World Cup is witnessing teams from 32 countries compete on a global scale. The downside to such an international event, however, is that these matches aren’t exactly convenient for US timezones. But thanks to a megathread on Reddit, there’s a handy list of how to best stream the World Cup so you can argue with those video-assisted referees.
The 2018 FIFA World Cup kicked off on Thursday between Russia and Saudi Arabia. Competing at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow, the host nation beat Saudi Arabia 5-0, a high-scoring game for football that would have been fun to watch in a bar or with friends and a plate of buffalo wings. But that’s not as easy to do when the match began at 9 a.m. Eastern (that’s 6 a.m. Pacific!), and many stations aren’t carrying the games due to early morning scheduling conflicts.
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To help fans access the streams, Reddit user Defensor Sporting posted a call on the r/soccer subreddit for legitimate streaming options for those who want to watch online. The original poster shared services from the US, while others shared options from their own countries. The result is a helpful compendium of how to watch the World Cup in several countries.
In the United States, FOX has the broadcasting rights for the FIFA World Cup and have FOX, FS1, and FS2 as designated channels. The Reddit thread offers a few options for streaming matches that come with varying costs:
- Sling Blue is listed as $25 a month.
- FuboTV is listed as $20 for the first month, and $45 per month afterwards.
- DirectTV Now is $35 a month, but does not offer FS2, so might be limited for game-watching.
- YouTube TV will also offer the matches for $40 a month.
The month-long competition will culminate at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow on July 15. Until then, the 32 participating countries will be vying for the final match with games across 12 venues in Russia.
The last FIFA World Cup reached an in-home audience of 3.2 billion viewers in 2014, with one billion people watching the final between Germany and Argentina, according to figures from FIFA and Kantar Media. FIFA is expecting similar numbers this year, though these metrics may have to take into account the growing number of people who are finding alternative ways to stream the matches worldwide.
