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Over-the-top (OTT) service ESPN+ has signed an expansive rights deal to show every single game of the US Open Cup for the first time in the domestic knockout soccer tournament’s 106-year history.
The United States Soccer Federation (USSF) has confirmed the four-year contract with ESPN’s OTT service, a deal brokered by the body’s commercial arm, Soccer United Marketing, that could even extend beyond 2022.
The arrangement sees all 83 games of the tournament made available via ESPN+, in what is an unprecedented move in US Soccer broadcasting history. In 2018 the only game that was nationally broadcast live was the final between Houston Dynamo and the Philadelphia Union.
“This exciting property joins a robust collection of soccer’s best domestic cup competitions on ESPN+,” said Burke Magnus, executive vice president of programming and scheduling at ESPN.
US Soccer chief executive, Dan Flynn, added: “We are extremely pleased by the commitment from ESPN+ to broadcast every game of the US Open Cup for the next several years.
“It will provide a national platform for more fans to follow the game in their communities throughout the country.”
ESPN+ already has the rights to Major League Soccer (MLS), the United Soccer League (USL) Championship and USL League One
Over-the-top (OTT) service ESPN+ has signed an expansive rights deal to show every single game of the US Open Cup for the first time in the domestic knockout soccer tournament’s 106-year history.
The United States Soccer Federation (USSF) has confirmed the four-year contract with ESPN’s OTT service, a deal brokered by the body’s commercial arm, Soccer United Marketing, that could even extend beyond 2022.
The arrangement sees all 83 games of the tournament made available via ESPN+, in what is an unprecedented move in US Soccer broadcasting history. In 2018 the only game that was nationally broadcast live was the final between Houston Dynamo and the Philadelphia Union.
“This exciting property joins a robust collection of soccer’s best domestic cup competitions on ESPN+,” said Burke Magnus, executive vice president of programming and scheduling at ESPN.
US Soccer chief executive, Dan Flynn, added: “We are extremely pleased by the commitment from ESPN+ to broadcast every game of the US Open Cup for the next several years.
“It will provide a national platform for more fans to follow the game in their communities throughout the country.”
ESPN+ already has the rights to Major League Soccer (MLS), the United Soccer League (USL) Championship and USL League One
