Soccer Fans Rejoice: Hundreds of Matches and Exclusive Content to be Available on ESPN+

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Live Events from MLS LIVE, UEFA Nations League, United Soccer League, English Football League and International Friendlies plus Exclusive Access to ESPN FC, ESPN’s 2018 FIFA World Cup Series The Last Train to Russia

Soccer fans in America will have a new way to watch hundreds of live matches and exclusive content year-round – all for just $4.99 (or $49.99 a year) with the launch of ESPN+, the first-ever multi-sport, direct-to-consumer subscription streaming service from The Walt Disney Company Direct-to-Consumer and International group in partnership with ESPN. At launch, the soccer programming lineup on ESPN+ will include more than 75 live matches in April alone – plus 23 Chicago Fire matches throughout the remainder of the MLS season to fans in the Chicago local market – and exclusive access to every episode of ESPN FC and ESPN’s 12-episode 2018 FIFA World Cup series The Last Train to Russia.

Live Soccer Matches on ESPN+

Through a previously announced agreement with Major League Soccer (MLS), ESPN+ subscribers will receive the entire MLS LIVE out-of-market schedule with more than 250 games this season. Currently, matches leading up to the launch of ESPN+ on April 12 are available free to stream live on MLSsoccer.com and the MLS App. After the launch, ESPN+ will provide exclusive access to out-of-market MLS games. ESPN+ will also be the local-market home for the Chicago Fire, exclusively bringing 23 Fire matches to fans in Chicago.

Through ESPN’s new multi-year, multimedia agreement with the league, ESPN+ will also carry approximately 450 United Soccer League (USL) matches this season, in addition to a USL Game of the week on ESPN3 and six USL regular season games and the 2018 USL Cup on ESPN linear networks. The USL reaches a population of more than 75 million people to fuel the growth of professional soccer across North America.

As part of a comprehensive media rights agreement with The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), ESPN+ subscribers will also have access to over 100 live matches from the newly created UEFA Nations League (UNL) tournament. Pay TV customers with an ESPN+ subscription will be able to access the entire tournament including the 36 UNL matches on ESPN linear networks and ESPN3. The UEFA Nations League is a new competition that replaces most friendly dates with competitive matches and enables all nations to play against evenly matched opponents. Teams from all of UEFA’s 55 member associations compete to become UEFA Nations League champions, to gain promotion, or to avoid relegation.

Additionally, ESPN+ subscribers will get approximately 200 total matches from the English Football League (EFL). At launch, this includes an average of four matches per week from the final months of the Sky Bet Championship Playoffs, League 1 and League 2. Additionally, beginning in August, fans will also get approximately six matches per month from the EFL Cup – featuring well-known English clubs like Manchester City, Manchester United, Chelsea, Liverpool, and Arsenal – and 16 matches per month throughout the EFL 2018-19 season.

The service will also feature various friendlies from top international clubs and national teams.

ESPN FC and The Last Train to Russia Exclusively on ESPN+

ESPN+ will be the new, exclusive home of ESPN FC – ESPN’s daily soccer news and information, highlights and analysis program hosted by Dan Thomas joined by top analysts and ESPN’s renowned journalists from around the globe. As of April 12, new shows will be available weekdays and Sundays only on ESPN+.

Additionally, leading into the 2018 FIFA World Cup, every English-language episode of ESPN’s 12-episode series The Last Train to Russia will be available exclusively to ESPN+ subscribers. The ESPN International global content initiative explores the country of Russia through the eyes of ESPN international soccer reporter Martín Ainstein and his visits to the 11 World Cup host cities.

The live soccer schedule for April:

The full Chicago Fire schedule:

About ESPN+

ESPN+ will be the first-ever multi-sport, direct-to-consumer subscription streaming service from The Walt Disney Company Direct-to-Consumer and International group in partnership with ESPN. It will offer fans thousands of additional live events, on-demand content and original programming not available on ESPN’s linear TV or digital networks. This includes hundreds of MLB, NHL and MLS games, Grand Slam tennis, Top Rank boxing, PGA Tour golf, college sports, international rugby, cricket, the full library of ESPN Films (including 30 for 30) and more. Fans can subscribe to ESPN+ for just $4.99 a month (or $49.99 per year) and cancel at any time.

Launching April 12, ESPN+ will be an integrated part of a completely redesigned ESPN App. Already the leading sports app, the new ESPN App will be the premier all-in-one digital sports platform for fans and is a showcase of the company’s culture of innovation. With a richer, increasingly more personalized experience, the new ESPN App will curate all of ESPN’s incredible content into an experience unique to each fan’s individual tastes. ESPN+ will also be available through ESPN.com.

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