Cord Cutter’s Guide to Watching Professional Soccer Online and Over-the-Air
In the words of George Gobel, “did you ever get the feeling that the world was a tuxedo and you were a pair of brown shoes?” If you’re an American soccer fan, then the answer is probably yes. Although soccer is the most popular sport in the world, you’re not likely to find a big match playing during prime time; especially if there’s a baseball or football game on.
But luckily for us, all of that is starting to change. Just last year, Fox debuted its coverage of Major League Soccer (MLS) with a record 34 games on its broadcast network and sports channel FS1; and 2017 is no different.
For the 2017 MLS season, Fox is slated to broadcast 33 games. Four of those games are scheduled to air on the Fox broadcast network and the other 29 are set to air on FS1.
2017 MLS Season Schedule
Here’s what their schedule looks like:
FS1
- Friday, March 3, 9:30 PM – Portland Timbers vs. Minnesota United
- Sunday, March 5, 7:00 PM – Atlanta United vs. New York Red Bulls
- Sunday, March 12, 7:00 PM – LA Galaxy vs. Portland Timbers
- Sunday, March 19, 7:00 PM – Seattle Sounders vs. New York Red Bulls
- Friday, March 31, 7:30 PM – Toronto FC vs. Sporting Kansas City
- Friday, March 31, 10:00 PM – Seattle Sounders vs. Atlanta United
- Sunday, April 9, 7:00 PM – Sporting Kansas City vs. Colorado Rapids
- Sunday, April 23, 1:30 PM – New York City FC vs. Orlando City
- Sunday, April 30, 3:00 PM – Atlanta United vs. D.C. United
- Sunday, May 7, 1:30 PM – Minnesota United vs. Sporting Kansas City
- Sunday, May 14, 6:00 PM – FC Dallas vs. New York City FC
- Sunday, May 14, 8:00 PM – New York Red Bulls vs. LA Galaxy
- Sunday, May 21, 7:00 PM – Orlando City vs. New York City FC
- Sunday, May 28, 8:00 PM ET FC Dallas vs. Houston Dynamo
- Sunday, June 4, 7:30 PM – Orlando City vs. Chicago Fire
- Sunday, June 19, 9:30 PM – Colorado Rapids vs. Portland Timbers
- Sunday, July 2, TBD – Philadelphia Union vs. New England Revolution
- Sunday, July 23, 6:00 PM – Vancouver Whitecaps vs. Portland Timbers
- Sunday, Aug. 6, 6:00 PM – New York City FC vs. New York Red Bulls
- Sunday, Aug. 6, 8:00 PM – Sporting Kansas City vs. Atlanta United
- Saturday, Aug. 12, 10:30 PM – LA Galaxy vs. New York City FC
- Sunday, Aug. 20, 8:00 PM – Portland Timbers vs. New York Red Bulls
- Sunday, Aug. 20, 10:00 PM – Seattle Sounders vs. Minnesota United
- Sunday, Aug. 27, 7:00 PM – LA Galaxy vs. San Jose Earthquakes
- Sunday, Aug. 27, 9:30 PM – Seattle Sounders vs. Portland Timbers
- Sunday, Sept. 10, 9:00 PM – Seattle Sounders vs. LA Galaxy
- Sunday, Sept. 24, 8:00 PM – Portland Timbers vs. Orlando City
FOX
- Saturday, April 15, 3:00 PM – Orlando City vs. LA Galaxy
- Saturday, May 27, 3:00 PM – Seattle Sounders vs. Portland Timbers
- Saturday, June 24, 1:30 PM – New York Red Bulls vs. New York City FC
- Saturday, July 30, 4:30 PM – Atlanta United vs. Orlando City
Despite what you may have been told, you don’t need a cable subscription to watch any of these games; all you need is a little know-how.
Here’s how you do it:
MLS on FOX
The first thing you’ll need is an over-the-air antenna. Cheap, small, and effective; the OTA antenna is the HD descendant of the rabbit ear antennas of yesteryear. With an OTA antenna, you’ll be able to pick up all of the broadcast networks in your area, including the Fox broadcast network.
Once you’ve got your antenna hooked up, you are good to go. No subscription or monthly fee need. Now, in order to watch the games airing on FS1 you’re going to need a live TV streaming service…
Live Streaming MLS
There are several options out there, and the list continues to grow. The most popular options include: Sling TV, PS Vue, Hulu Live TV, DirecTV Now & YouTube TV. All of these services allow you to live stream dozens of cable channels for a low monthly fee. Each one of these services have an option that allow you to stream FS1, but there are some minor differences. And for serious cord-cutting soccer fans, there’s also the recently revamped FuboTV which packs in a slew of niche, regional, and international sports channels (multiple beIN networks, Fox Soccer Plus, and more) on top of the standards (like FS1) for $35 per month.
As an example: for $25 a month you can subscribe to Sling TV’s Blue package; which includes FS1. This is going to be your cheapest option, but in exchange you have to give up coverage to ESPN; which is no good, obviously.
But if you don’t like having to make sacrifices, and don’t mind paying a little bit more, then you might want to consider the $30 a month Access Slim package from PlayStation Vue. That plan will give you both ESPN and FS1, as well as a whole host of other channels not available in Sling’s Blue package.
Watching MLS Without a Cable Bill
Either way you slice it, you have options; it all boils down to personal personal preference. An antenna is a no brainer. The value is through the roof. As for the streaming services, all of them offer free trials. So you don’t need to cancel cable before testing them out. It really is a no risk proposition, that could potentially save you over $1000 a year.
Find Out How to Watch Soccer and Everything Else You Love with Untangle.TV
As you can see, there are plenty of ways for you to enjoy MLS and so much more soccer action without having to deal with traditional cable or satellite TV. From the growing number of over-the-air sports broadcasts to a wide variety of new streaming services to fit various budgets – options abound.
If you’re wondering exactly which services or antennas you specifically need to watch what you want to watch, head over to Untangle.TV. Plug in a few details about yourself, select the shows, channels and sports you can’t live without, and the cord-cutting app will generate a customized recommendation for exactly what devices and services would suit you best.
What’s your favorite MLS team? Let us know in the comments below or sound off on social media!
