If you watch soccer in the US, this is your big year. The 2026 FIFA World Cup is being played in the United States, Canada, and Mexico this summer. MLS is in the middle of a contract reset with Apple. The Premier League is still the gold-standard product for English-speaking soccer fans. And Champions League is firmly behind a Paramount+ paywall. Let me walk through the four buckets.

MLS — Apple TV, with a paywall ending in 2029

Apple signed Major League Soccer to a 10-year, $2.5 billion exclusive deal in 2022. Every MLS regular-season game, every playoff game, and every Cup match runs through Apple TV. Until 2029, there is no other way to watch MLS in the US.

For 2026, the setup is: $12.99 a month for the base Apple TV subscription plus $14.99 a month for the MLS Season Pass add-on (or $99 for the season). Apple TV gets you the rest of Apple's sports lineup — Friday Night Baseball, F1 starting this season — plus the Apple Originals catalog.

The big news. In November 2025, Apple and MLS agreed to end the 10-year deal 3 years early. Starting in 2029, the MLS Season Pass paywall goes away entirely — every MLS match folds into the base Apple TV subscription. So if you already pay for Apple TV, you will get MLS for no extra cost from 2029 forward. For 2026 through 2028, the Season Pass surcharge is still in play.

Total spend for an MLS fan in 2026: $12.99 + $14.99 = $27.98 a month, or $260 for the season at the Season Pass annual rate.

Premier League — NBC, USA, and Peacock

NBC and Peacock have the Premier League through the 2027-28 season, paying $450 million a year. The structure: marquee Saturday and Sunday games run on NBC over the air and USA Network on cable. The remaining games — most of them — are Peacock-exclusive.

For 2026, the cheapest path: Peacock Premium at $10.99 a month (with ads) or $16.99 a month (no ads). That covers every Premier League game, plus Sunday Night Football, Notre Dame football, WWE PPVs, and the NBA national package NBC has back.

If you also want USA Network for the cable games, you need a live TV service. YouTube TV, Hulu+Live, Fubo, and DirecTV Stream all carry USA.

Lean Premier League stack: $30 antenna for NBC marquee games + $10.99 a month Peacock for everything else = under $11 a month. Honest answer.

Champions League — Paramount+

The UEFA Champions League — the top European club competition — is on Paramount+ in the US through 2030. Every match. Including the Final.

Paramount+ Essential is $7.99 a month with ads. Paramount+ Premium with Showtime is $12.99 a month. Either tier carries every Champions League match.

Paramount+ also has CBS NFL games (Sunday afternoon AFC games), the new exclusive UFC deal starting in 2026, and the NWSL. So for soccer plus other sports, it stacks well.

The 2026 FIFA World Cup — FOX and Telemundo (Peacock)

The 2026 World Cup is the first jointly-hosted tournament in history. United States, Canada, and Mexico share the matches. 48 teams competing across 16 host cities.

English-language coverage: FOX and FS1 have every match. Most of the round-of-32 games, knockout-round matches, and the Final are on FOX itself, which is free over the air. The remaining games air on FS1, which is on YouTube TV, Hulu+Live, Fubo, DirecTV Stream, and Sling Blue.

Spanish-language coverage: Telemundo has every match. Telemundo's streaming home is Peacock. Telemundo over the air is included with your $30 antenna in most US markets — check your local channel list.

Lean World Cup stack: $30 antenna (FOX + Telemundo over the air) + $10.99 Peacock for FS1 cable games and Spanish streaming. Total spend: $10.99 for the duration of the tournament.

The full soccer stack for a serious fan

If you follow MLS, Premier League, Champions League, and you want the World Cup — the full stack in 2026 is roughly:

Total: about $47 a month, year-round. For a fan who watches three major soccer products plus the quadrennial World Cup, that's actually competitive with what a cable bundle used to cost for the same coverage.

What about ESPN+, Bundesliga, La Liga, Serie A?

The other major European leagues split across services:

For most US-based soccer fans, MLS plus Premier League plus Champions League covers 95 percent of what they actually watch. The other leagues are nice-to-have, not need-to-have.

Run the quiz for your stack

If you want a personalized soccer recommendation that factors in your favorite team, your league mix, and your World Cup plans, run our Tailor Fit quiz.

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Last verified: 2026-06-04 against live carrier and rights data. Streaming rights shift quarterly — we re-check every season.

Sources: Apple-MLS deal amendment (November 2025); Premier League rights deal (announced November 2021); UEFA Champions League rights coverage; FIFA 2026 host-broadcaster announcement; SPORTS-RIGHTS-MASTER.md (verified 2026-06-04); APPS-MASTER.md.