How to Watch the Champions League in the USA

The Champions League in the United States is a streaming-first competition. Every one of the 189 matches in the new league phase and knockout rounds lives on one subscription service, with a selection of games simulcast on CBS television. Spanish-language viewers get a parallel offer that, in some seasons, has been the better deal. Here is the complete picture for 2026-27.

CBS holds the English-language rights through 2030, a deal worth a reported $1.5 billion, so this arrangement is stable for years. What changes season to season is only which matches get the full broadcast-network treatment.

Paramount+ is the essential subscription

Paramount+ streams every match live and on demand — all 189 of them across the league phase, play-offs and knockouts. The Essential plan costs $7.99 per month or $59.99 per year, making it one of the cheapest major-football subscriptions in the country. The ad-free Paramount+ with Showtime tier at $12.99 adds the Showtime catalogue but nothing extra for football.

On busy league-phase nights, when up to nine matches kick off simultaneously in each window, Paramount+ offers a multiview option on supported devices and a whip-around goals show. Every match is archived as a full replay within hours, and condensed versions run about twelve minutes.

What CBS television actually shows

The CBS broadcast network — free with an antenna — carries a selection of the biggest matches: typically one high-profile game per matchday window in the league phase, then more through the knockouts, including the final. CBS Sports Network, a cable channel, shows additional matches and studio programming, including the popular UEFA Champions League Today show with Kate Scott, Thierry Henry, Jamie Carragher and Micah Richards, which has become a genuine draw in itself.

Spanish-language coverage: the parallel universe

ViX, TelevisaUnivision's streaming service, holds Spanish-language rights and carries most matches, with select games on the free-to-air Univision, UniMás and TUDN channels. ViX Premium runs $7.99 per month. For bilingual households the combination of an antenna for Univision games and ViX for the rest has historically matched Paramount+ coverage at similar cost — the deciding factor is simply commentary preference.

Kick-off times: the working-day problem

European evenings are American afternoons. The early Champions League window starts at 12:45 p.m. Eastern — 9:45 a.m. Pacific — and the main window at 3:00 p.m. Eastern, noon Pacific. Most fans watch from a phone at work, a second monitor, or catch the evening replay. Paramount+ replays are spoiler-shielded if you avoid the home screen carousel; navigating straight to the match page via search keeps scores hidden.

Knockout rounds and the final

From the round of 16 onward CBS elevates coverage: more broadcast-network matches, longer studio shows, and the final on free-to-air CBS nationwide. The 2026 final in Budapest drew one of the largest club-football audiences in US history. For the knockouts an antenna plus Paramount+ gives you everything in both languages at maximum quality.

The minimal US setup

• Paramount+ Essential at $59.99 per year — every match, every replay.
• An antenna for CBS marquee games and the final in uncompressed HD.
• Multiview on league-phase nights when nine matches run at once.
• ViX as an alternative if your household prefers Spanish commentary.

The Golazo Network: CBS's free football channel

CBS's streaming operation includes a genuinely free layer that many subscribers never notice. CBS Sports Golazo Network streams at no cost on the CBS Sports app and Pluto TV: studio shows, match previews, the whip-around on select windows, and full replays of headline matches after they air. It will not replace Paramount+ for live completeness, but as a free supplement for the casual Champions League viewer it is unmatched in the US market — and its highlight show on match nights is faster than anything else legal on American television.

For households deciding between the two languages, there is no wrong answer — ViX and Paramount+ both carry the competition in full, and the deciding factors are commentary preference and which entertainment catalogue your family actually uses. Either way, the entire European season costs less than a single match ticket.

At under eight dollars a month, Champions League access in the USA is the best value in world football broadcasting — the Premier League costs more for a reason, but Europe's midweek crown jewel is priced like a rounding error.