The cost of watching football has never been higher, and UK fans are getting a raw deal compared to those in the USA.
More Premier League games than ever are shown live around the world, with 180 countries broadcasting matches.
As a result, the English top flight is the most-watched sports league in the world.
But with that comes huge TV deals and revenue, bumping up costs for viewers.
Up to five million people in the UK are thought to be turning to illegal streaming due to the ever-rising cost of watching live football.
Last month, UEFA launched media rights tenders for men’s club competitions.
This is only expected to push the cost even higher once any new deals are announced.
In both the UK and the US, numerous different subscriptions are required to watch football.
The Premier League, Champions League and various other competitions are spread across countless different services.
However, UK fans are paying significantly more than their American counterparts.
🔙🔜 pic.twitter.com/i8DEFxVFM7
— Premier League (@premierleague) November 17, 2025
TV License Cost Already Puts UK Fans At A Disadvantage To US
Before a single subscription has been paid for, UK fans are already at a disadvantage.
In the UK, watching live programming requires a TV license, which costs £174.50 annually.
Not paying for the license can incur a fine of up to £1,000 if you are caught watching live TV without it.
Cost Of Watching Football In UK Vs US
In the UK, Sky Sports is the primary rights holder for the Premier League.
Sky will show at least 215 matches in 2025-26, up from 128 last season.
A monthly subscription to Sky TV is £25 per month, with a further £25 to add on Sky Sports.
UK fans are therefore already at £65 per month, just to watch the Premier League.
But to watch a further 52 Premier League fixtures shown on TNT Sports, you’ll need to shell out another £30.99 per month.
TNT does also show the majority of European fixtures, such as the Champions League and Europa League.
But not all of them.
Amazon Prime Video will show 17 Champions League games this season, at a further cost of £8.99 per month.
The Women’s Champions League is shown on Disney+ in the UK, with 52 fixtures broadcast live, adding an extra £5.99 per month.
Comparatively, NBC holds exclusive rights to all 380 Premier League games in the US.
This is thanks to no Saturday 3pm blackout rule like the one in the UK.
American fans pay just $10.99 (£8) a month for NBC Sports.
And UEFA club competitions, including every match, are shown live via CBS, at a cost of only $7.99 (£6) per month.
Watching WSL And Women’s Champions League
While there are big price discrepancies in watching the men’s game between the UK and US, women’s football has an even greater disparity.
For a UK fan to watch the WSL and UEFA Women’s Champions League, it would cost around £85 per month in subscriptions.
In the US, watching the same competitions would cost $20.98 a month, equal to just £16.
With much made of the growth in women’s football in the UK, fans are now being priced out.
The success of back-to-back Euros winners, England’s Lionesses, was hoped to usher in a new generation of passionate supporters.
But if young fans cannot afford to watch the game, interest will soon wane.
Those in charge of football need to avoid taking short-term financial gain over long-term growth.
