Part of the draw of streaming services are the features available for soccer fans in their viewing experience. On cable TV, audiences must follow a singular game. From there, they are subjugated to the individual game in chronological order.
Of course, DVR opens up the doors for rewind, but other bells and whistles are not commonplace.
That is where streaming thrives. For one, the cost is lower than most cable or satellite packages. Moreover, streaming simply has more features to make the soccer experience more enjoyable for the fan.
This does not just apply to replacements for cable. fuboTV, YouTube TV, Hulu + Live TV and more all have these features. Individual platforms such as ESPN+, Paramount+ and Peacock have options that suit the content. In a perfect world, all of the streaming services would have all of the best features.
Unfortunately, we do not live in a perfect world. Soccer fans need to subscribe to a variety of services to watch the top leagues. ESPN+ has LaLiga, FA Cup, League Cup and the Bundesliga. Paramount+ has Serie A and the Champions League. Peacock has almost half of all Premier League games. beIN SPORTS carries Ligue Un. Clearly, it is a maze.
Each has their perks, and each has their drawbacks. Here are some of the best features for soccer fans available on these streaming services.
Best streaming features for soccer fans
Multicast (ESPN+) or Multiview (fuboTV)
Part of the challenge of watching soccer is the need to focus on multiple games at once. While recordings are certainly an option, social media warrants soccer fans to watch games live at the risk of spoiling results.
ESPN+ and fuboTV have features that allow you to watch multiple games at once. In fact, on both features, users have the ability to watch up to four games on one screen concurrently. On major weekends, the benefits of this are clear.
Also, it does not have to just be soccer. Any event on either fuboTV or ESPN+ can be cast on the screen along with the beautiful game.
The only blemish is that ESPN+’s Multicast and fuboTV’s Multiview are only available on the Apple TV. If you are just using a desktop, laptop, phone or tablet, there is no option for multicast. The benefit of needing a large screen make sense, as putting four different games on a six-inch screen would be overwhelming.
Yet, for the TV, multiple games at once is near-essential for weekends of soccer.
Multiple languages (Paramount+)
Paramount+ exceeds at coverage of Serie A. Each game is available on the service, and there is a strong group in charge of studio coverage. Yet, in terms of in-game commentary, one of the best parts of CBS’s coverage of the Italian top flight is the option for languages.
Viewers have the option of listening to the Italian broadcasts of Serie A games, which truly gets the emotion across as to what each game means. Granted, not all viewers can necessarily understand the Italian commentary. However, watching Italian soccer in Italian adds to the overall experience. Plus, if the desire is ever there to watch in English, that option exists.
Key Plays (Peacock)
Anecdotally speaking, some of us wake up early to watch the Premier League. While that is earlier for some than others, Americans lose sleep to watch the most competitive domestic league in Europe. So, one of the best features available on streaming services comes from Peacock in its Key Plays feature.
If watching a game, viewers can easily catch up on the major moments from earlier in the match. That could be a goal, save, penalty or even just a shot that got the crowd to go on edge for a split second.
For those unwilling to wake up with the sun, it is a pivotal feature to use. Audiences can feel like they have seen all the major moments, without actually watching all the minutes. In the fluid nature of soccer, where broadcasters seldom show replays, this is key for those that are late to the start of a fixture.
Other features
There are plenty of other options available when it comes to streaming. Paramount+ occasionally has its whip-around show The Golazo Show with the UEFA coverage. However, you cannot pick the audio you want to listen to. Similarly, applications have picture-in-picture, which is a more barebones version of this format.
Audiences could also enjoy the use of statistics. fuboTV has statistics pages that are available called Fan View. This has possession, shots, fouls, bookings, saves and more that refresh as the game progresses.
Which of these features do you think is the best for streaming soccer in the United States? And which streaming service has the best features in your opinion?
PHOTO: IMAGO / Panthermedia
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Nosferatu
September 7, 2022 at 12:34 pm
As someone who has no problem staying off social media so I can enjoy a game that I have to pause/join late/watch late, the ratings for me are very much based on live game DVR controls and how efficiently replays are provided.
Peacock shot up to the top in this regard last season. While you do have to rewind a live game manually while shielding your eyes from the score, it’s still a good option. Meanwhile, they’re very good about getting replays up quite soon after the game ends, which is also important for many.
ESPN+ might be ready to overtake Peacock, though. Just last night I fired it up and got a notification on the Roku that you can now disable spoiler scores (I know this was an issue for some, though I already had it set as such somehow) AND by hitting the asterisk button on the remote you can choose to have the game start from the beginning without having to rewind manually. I couldn’t try this as it was too late for anything to be on live, but I’m quite intrigued and will see if it works tonight if I get home before the US Open cup is over.
And then there’s Paramount+. Same old s—. New seasons are all underway and they still haven’t added live game DVR and it still takes them hours to get replays up, all especially egregious because we’re dealing with mid-week, mid-day games when many viewers are at work. So frustrating. At least I’m getting it for free now, because on this level it’s not worth much more.
SteveK
September 7, 2022 at 1:17 pm
I’m like you Nosferatu I consider live game controls like pause and rewind to be the single most important streaming feature for soccer. (Unless you consider picture quality a feature, and then in that case live game DVR controls would be #2.) Paramount+ may be trolling us right now, but I’m watching Rangers Ajax on the aTV and by mistake I happened to swipe down and it now shows a big “play from beginning” button. Getting my hopes up I pressed it but of course nothing happens. No idea how long this has been there perhaps an upgrade is in the works.
JP
September 7, 2022 at 1:28 pm
That’s been there since last year!! At most back to beginning takes you 10-30 seconds prior. Also, in random cases the rewind will work for 10-30 seconds prior max as well, but not all matches. Fingers crossed it’s finally up and running to coincide with NFL this Sunday….already missed start of Serie A and start of UCL.
Nosferatu
September 7, 2022 at 2:06 pm
What a tease! I’m watching Frankfurt-Sporting on my laptop so I had to start swiping all over but nothing, of course.
(I was also about to comment on how the picture isn’t even that great, but then remembered I still have an ESPN tab open for tennis–and my work wifi can be iffy, so I won’t cast aspersions today. Looked fine on my Roku yesterday.)
SteveK
September 7, 2022 at 2:18 pm
I’m sorry Nosferatu, I should have mentioned this was with an Apple TV and the 1st get Siri remote, the one with the jittery large trackpad that hardly anyone liked. Easy to mis-swipe right when you are in the middle of something. From what I remember of Champions League last year, picture quality on Paramount+ has improved since then, to my eyes anyway.
Michael F
September 7, 2022 at 7:06 pm
@SteveK. I have 4K 4th gen Apple TV and I don’t see much of an improvement to picture quality of Champions league matches on Paramount+. Still inferior to the Peacock and ESPN+. It still lacks that crystal clear sharpness.
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Oddly though, other telecasts on Paramount+… like Serie A weekly highlight show is excellent picture. I don’t get why they can’t get this quality for the mid week UEFA matches. Maybe it’s a bandwidth problem, but it’s still disappointing. The greatest clubs in all of Europe in the highest competition and could say the world… and we have to view them on an inferior picture. That’s nonsense.
JP
September 8, 2022 at 4:23 pm
@Michael F, I think it’s a bandwidth problem too. Serie A always looks good, Europa League looks fine all the time as well. Just UCL that seems to be off just a bit in terms of quality. Even the Napoli/Liverpool match yesterday had moments where the quality degraded for quick spurts, same happened (but worse) on a USMNT match earlier in the year. Bigger the event, more people presumably streaming, worse the picture quality.
Michael F
September 7, 2022 at 6:57 pm
Totally agree Nosferatu on Paramount+ lack of progress for live match DVR controls and long delay to get replays of mid week Champions or Europa league matches to view. It’s kind of pathetic. And also… STILL an inferior HD picture compared to Peacock and ESPN. The three most important things to a viewer… 1) controls. 2) availability to watch. 3) picture!!
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This is 2022… what the heck?! Paramount+ gets a D mark for dumbos.
Sean+Johansen
September 7, 2022 at 11:55 am
I couldn’t concentrate on multiple mini screens on my tv. I chooses one game and watch in full screen
David+K.
September 7, 2022 at 9:18 am
Is there a reason why multicast is only available through AppleTV? I have a Roku as well as laptops so would love this feature without having to buy another device.
Ra
September 7, 2022 at 8:02 am
Paramount+ also has Portuguese commentary for the Brasileirao.