This year, FOX Sports holds the English-language broadcasting rights to the FIFA World Cup. You can watch every game on FOX Sports, but you will need a cable subscription to get it. And if you’re living or traveling abroad, you can still watch the matches, although you will need to bypass the geographic content blocks put in place by various streaming services.
If you still need access to FOX Sports while overseas, you’re in luck! There are a growing number of cord-cutting options for US residents that will get you the FIFA World Cup on FOX Sports, and that can still work even when you’re outside of the US.
Your best option to get FIFA World Cup 2018 on FOX Sports is using what’s known as an internet TV skinny bundle streaming service. These services are growing in number every year, with FOX Sports one of the common sports channels on offer. They’re also exceedingly cheap in comparison to cable, work on a large number of devices, can stream live online without any special equipment beyond just your computer.
Let’s explore your top options.
FIFA World Cup 2018 on FOX Sports: Your top 5 options
The best streaming services that carry FOX Sports for FIFA World Cup are:
- Sling TV
- YouTube TV
- Hulu with Live TV
- DirecTV Now
- PlayStation Vue
- fuboTV
Each offers FOX Sports in at least one of their subscription packages. Some, such as YouTube TV and Hulu with Live TV, only have one subscription package to choose from, making your choice rather easy to make.
Can I stream these services overseas?
Yes, you can! When you’re traveling, you might normally try to connect to any of these services through your computer, only to find they’re blocked. That’s because US-based streaming services are only available in the States. These services employ geographic content blocks to prevent international usage.
However, if you utilize a virtual private network or VPN, you can bypass those content blocks and still get access to the streaming services you’re paying for. Virtual private networks can connect you to a server in the US that will spoof your location and allow you to still access those streams. This is also a perfectly legal way to still access the content you have a right to see.
ExpressVPN
Apps Available:
- PC
- Mac
- IOS
- Android
- Linux
Website: www.ExpressVPN.com
Money-back guarantee: 30 DAYS
Not every VPN service works. Of those we’ve tested, ExpressVPN works the best to get the job done. Not only does it maintain high-level encryption standards, it also helps maintain your anonymity online with strict no-logs policies. You can even use ExpressVPN on a large number of streaming devices or your web browser.
If you’re considering using a paid service to watch FOX Sports in high quality while abroad, ExpressVPN is the one we’ve found that works well.
BEST VPN FOR WORLD CUP STREAMING:ExpressVPN is our #1 Choice. With a vast server network that is optimized for high-speed connections, it’s perfect for watching the World Cup. User-friendly apps for all operating systems. Hard to beat on privacy and security. There is a 30-day money-back guarantee so you can try it risk-free.
Sling TV
If you want to get FOX Sports and spend as little money as possible, Sling TV is your go-to choice. You can get Sling TV for $25 per month. If you want FOX Sports, you will need to subscribe to their Sling Blue plan, which comes with over 30 channels alongside FOX Sports.
Once you have your subscription, you can download and install the Sling TV app on a large number of devices, including Amazon Fire TV, Roku, and some smart TVs. Sling TV can be streamed through a web browser as well.
There are some decent features, but Sling TV is somewhat lacking. If you want cloud-based DVR, you can get it for an extra $5 per month.
YouTube TV
One of the newest cord-cutting options around, YouTube TV is Google’s entry into the skinny bundle streaming service market. Not to be confused with standard on-demand YouTube, you’ll find that YouTube TV offers just one subscription package for $40 per month. That’s more expensive than Sling TV, but YouTube TV does come with some comparative advantages.
YouTube TV lets you create six separate user profiles for your family and friends. You can also stream on 3 different devices simultaneously. And while Sling TV only offers a DVR for an added fee, YouTube TV throws that in for the subscription price. The amount you can store is also very generous. There’s unlimited video storage, and each profile gets their own storage. However, videos will expire after 9 months.
The biggest drawback of YouTube TV is that it is, inexplicably, still not available everywhere in the US. If you’re outside of a major city, you may be out of luck with this one.
Hulu with Live TV
You may be more familiar with Hulu as an on-demand streaming service that offers up hit shows like The Handmaid’s Tale. However, the service has been offering a live TV option as well for almost a year, and it’s growing. It also offers FOX Sports in its single subscription package, which costs $39.99 per month.
Like YouTube TV, Hulu with Live TV has a large number of bonus features. One is that you get the on-demand service — a $7.99 per month value — included with the price of the subscription. Hulu also throws in 50 hours of cloud storage.
Hulu with Live TV has apps for a large number of streaming devices, but you can still watch in your web browser. The biggest limitation is the two simultaneous screens limit. You can expand that, but it’ll cost you a pretty penny.
DirecTV Now
AT&T is dominating the streaming marketing these days with its DirecTV Now streaming service. DirecTV Now is not quite as big as Sling TV, which is the original service in this space, but it’s getting there. That’s because DirecTV Now has a very recognizable name, has pushed hard in marketing, and has offered this service on a large number of devices.
DirecTV Now, unfortunately, has a more complex array of subscription packages and tops out at a higher price than most of the other services with the exclusion of PlayStation Vue. Thankfully, their lowest-cost package, “Live a Little”, offers FOX Sports at just $35 per month.
If you want bonus features, this is definitely not the best service, however. DirecTV Now only just recently added a cloud DVR, and it’s not a very generous one with only 20 hours of storage. The service is often riddled with outages, making current customers more than a little furious with DirecTV.
PlayStation Vue
Among the services, PlayStation Vue is often considered the most enjoyable one to use. The user interface is top-notch, and it streams well. The only problem is that Sony seems to have a naming and branding issues. PlayStation Vue does not require you to own a PlayStation. You can stream it on a large number of devices, with apps available for iOS and Android devices, as well as streaming through the web, among other options.
PS Vue is also fairly expensive on its high end, but you can subscribe to their “Access” service for $39.99 per month to get Fox Sports. Unfortunately, PS Vue just announced a price increase of $5 per month, which is a bit hard to justify considering the service already is among the more expensive on the market.
Nevertheless, PS Vue has great features with a large simultaneous streaming policy: up to 5 devices at once on the same account.
fuboTV
Even as AT&T tries to move in on the non-sports niche created by Philo, fuboTV is still alone as the only sports-centric streaming service. fuboTV offers a large number of sports streaming channels, including many international sports channels that are hard to find in the US.
with fuboTV, you can get FOX Sports for $44.99 per month. It is indeed the most expensive option on our list for FOX Sports, but it also comes with over 85 channels. You can get the first month with a small discount as well.
fuboTV includes a 30-hour cloud DVR with its service. You can even use it on a large number of devices.
Alternative streaming options for FIFA World Cup
Looking for some free options for World Cup streams? You can watch FIFA World Cup free online through a large number of different international sources. Many countries outside of the US are offering World Cup matches on their public broadcasting services (akin to the PBS in the US). However, most often these are geographically blocked, meaning you can’t stream them live online.
Here are a few great international locations and channels that will work with ExpressVPN and let you view the World Cup for free.
Australia
You can connect to an Australia VPN server in order to access free streams through SBS. Via their The World Game website, you will find every World Cup match made available and in fairly good streaming quality.
Switzerland
You don’t need to speak another language to enjoy watching soccer. If you’re OK with non-English commentary, you can use the Swiss SGR SSR networks to watch the 2018 World Cup.
Your three options here are SRF (German), RSI (Italian) and RTS (French). Why are there so many? There is no such thing as a “Swiss” language. Switzerland has multiple languages spoken in the country, so it provides different broadcasts for the largest language groups.
Germany
German broadcasters ARD and ZDF have the streaming rights for German soccer fans. Both of these services are free in Germany, and you can connect right in if you have a VPN that works to unblock international streams.
Comparitech does not condone or encourage any copyright violation, including streaming video from pirated sources. Although VPNs can skirt geographical restrictions and mask the user’s identity, please consider the local laws, victims, and risks of piracy before downloading or streaming copyrighted material without permission.
