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It might be difficult to fathom for some American sports fans, but when it comes to sheer worldwide popularity, soccer is in a league of its own. Apparently, there are around 3.5 billion soccer fans located around the world, with it being the most popular sport in most of Europe, Africa, South America, Asia, Central America, and the Middle East. It seems that the sport nicknamed ‘the beautiful game’ truly remains a global phenomenon then.
Nowadays, the sport is growing in stature in the US too though, with reports of it now actually being the third most-watched team sport, overtaking baseball and ice hockey, and only lagging behind football and basketball. Whilst a lot of this is down to the growth of the MLS, with more and more money being pumped into the domestic league, it’s also due to the increased availability for soccer fans to watch Premier League games.
The Most Watched League
The Premier League is based in England and is easily the most-watched soccer league in the world. This is due to the league being seen as the most exciting, with the matches being of the highest quality, played at a frenetic pace, and featuring some of the biggest names on the world stage. Just some of the miraculous talent on show includes; Cristiano Ronaldo at Manchester United, Romelu Lukaku at Chelsea, Kevin De Bruyne at Manchester City, and Mo Salah at Liverpool.
It’s also highly competitive, with several huge teams battling it out all season for the top spot. This year, the most likely candidates seem to be London team Chelsea, and two northern teams, Liverpool and Manchester City. Though teams like Manchester United, Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur, and West Ham won’t make it easy for them and will push them the whole way.
Because of its competitive nature, the league is also hugely popular with bettors, at the leading bookmakers. You can find all these trusted sites, at SBO.net, which have scoured the internet to bring you the longest odds, the greatest sign-up deals, and a massive amount of bonus offers. They also have free tips, so even if you’re not quite sure which way the match is going to go, they’ll be there to give you an informed helping hand.
With the demand for watching the league rocketing year after year, let’s have a quick look at how viewers in certain parts of the world can now watch the mesmerizing sporting spectacle.
The US
Interestingly, you can actually watch more Premier League matches in the US than you can in England. The English viewers are only given a total of 200 matches from a seasoned broadcast to them on television services and streaming, whereas Americans can enjoy the full 380 matches, which works out at ten live games most weekends between August and May.
The US TV network that has the rights to the Premier League is NBC Sports Group, which acquired them in 2013. It airs every match across its network of NBC channels, and also for those who prefer to use their games console, phone, iPad, computer, etc, they have a streaming service called Peacock Premium. This streaming service shows 175 games exclusively during the season, and it costs $49.99 annually or $4.99 per month. It’s even free for people already subscribed to Xfinity.
Qatar
The next World Cup is going to be hosted in the Middle Eastern country of Qatar. This is due to take place next year, and as you can imagine, the pop
BeIN is the tv network that owns the rights to the Premier League, and again they have the full 380 games available for their customers. The price of the subscription to the channel can be as little as QR 110 per month through Ooredoo.
South Africa
Soccer is huge in South Africa, and the country even proudly hosted the World Cup in 2010, becoming the first of the African continent to stage this festival of the sport. Eleven years on and it is as popular as ever, with the most supported Premier League team in the country, apparently, being Manchester United.
The best way to catch the games is by subscribing to the streaming service Showmax Pro, which again has all 380 matches available. The price for the exceptional service begins at R225 per month.
