Since the network began in 1979, ESPN has been one of the top sports broadcast channels not only in the United States but around the globe.

Starting with airing NASL matches in 1981 in the final years of the league’s existence, ESPN has dedicated resources to televising soccer across the USA. The channel held the rights to the 1986 FIFA World Cup before airing six straight tournaments from 1994 through 2014.

They have also at various points held the rights to the UEFA Champions League, English Premier League, Italian Serie A, MLS, and U.S. national team soccer, amongst many other competitions.

With the company’s push towards its streaming service ESPN+, much of the channel’s soccer products are available largely on exclusive streaming offer. The Sporting News takes you through what soccer competitions are currently available on ESPN+ and how to access it.

What soccer leagues are on ESPN+?

ESPN, which is owned by the Walt Disney Company alongside its parent network ABC, has scaled back its soccer output somewhat, but still currently holds the rights to three major competitions.

As of the start of the 2024/25 club season, ESPN is the United States broadcast home for two major European leagues as well as one European cup competition and NCAA men’s and women’s collegiate soccer domestically in the USA.

They have held the rights to Spanish league and cup competition since 2021, signing a landmark eight-year deal that totaled $1.4 billion through the life of the contract, at the time becoming the most expensive soccer television rights deal in the United States.

ESPN also secured the rights to Bundesliga competition in 2020, signing a six-year deal reportedly worth $30 million per season. ESPN publicly stated in 2023 they are enthusiastically in discussions to extend the deal further, but nothing official has yet been announced.

In 2018, ESPN signed on to secure the rights to the English FA Cup, with a four-year extension signed in early 2024. The deal is for all 79 matches produced by the FA, which includes every game from the third round on, plus select first round and second round matches.

Finally, ESPN has long held a close partnership with the NCAA, and in March of 2024 signed a massive eight-year rights deal worth $115 million per year to become the “multi-platform home” of over 40 NCAA sports, including men’s and women’s soccer. As part of the deal, ESPN has shelled out significant resources to construct broadcast studios at many college campuses to then outsource the production of local broadcasts to the home team of various sports.

While access to these NCAA broadcasts can sometimes vary (for example, access to games on ACC Network Extra, or ACCNX for short, require a cable login which includes ACC Network despite streaming on WatchESPN), but on many occasions they are accessible with an ESPN+ subscription.

How much does ESPN+ cost to watch soccer?

As of the start of the 2024/25 season, a subscription to just ESPN+ costs $10.99 per month. There is also a yearly option for $109.99, which comes out to around $9.17 per month, a savings of slightly less than $2 per month or around 17 percent.

You can, however, package ESPN+ into a bundle for two other Disney streaming services, Hulu and Disney+. The base version costs $14.99 per month, while the premium version with no ads costs $24.99 per month, allowing a user access to all three services. There is no annual option for the Disney bundle.

Can you get ESPN+ for free?

As of the start of the 2024/25 season, ESPN+ does not offer a free trial for the general public.

However, some wireless and internet providers boast special offers to secure ESPN+ at no cost. Spectrum partners with ESPN+ to offer Select Plus customers the streaming service for free.

Currently, Disney is not offering a student discount for a subscription to either just ESPN+ or the Disney bundle.

There is a student discount for just Hulu on its own, but that has not been extended to other Disney properties as of the time of writing.