How to Watch MLS Cup Playoffs Online without Cable
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MLS Cup Playoffs Live Stream Options for Cord-Cutters: Where to Watch Online

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I watched LAFC defeat the Philadelphia Union in penalty kicks to capture the 2022 MLS Cup Final. Now I’m ready to see the 2023 season kick off on Saturday, February 25th, when LA Galaxy takes on LAFC.

In a hurry? These streaming services will provide you with access to all the MLS Cup matches:

  • Fubo: The best streaming service for international sports also provides 150+ well-selected channels. Fubo allows you to try out its service with a free trial.
  • DIRECTV STREAM: Get a great channel lineup with the best selection of RSNs in the industry. A 5-day free trial is now available for DIRECTV STREAM.
  • Sling TV: This low-cost service allows you to select just the channel lineup you want. Save $25 on Sling TV now.

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IMPORTANT: Once you’ve installed your VPN and connected to a US server, you’ll still need to subscribe separately to access premium streaming services.

The MLS Cup playoffs are the culmination of an eight-month journey that 27+ soccer clubs take part in, leading to the MLS Cup final, which is simply referred to as MLS Cup. This is the most significant United States- and Canada-based soccer competition, featuring the top teams in those two countries.

MLS’s attendances are amongst the world’s best. Its 2019 average of 21,265 ranked eighth, only behind the Bundesliga (43,445), Premier League (38,182), La Liga (26,933), Serie A (24,931), Chinese Super League (24,076), Ligue 1 (22,833), and Liga MX (22,788).

How can you stream the MLS Cup matches? Read on.

Sign Up for a Free Fubo Trial

Want to watch the MLS regular season? Read our MLS Guide.

Major League Soccer
MLS by Matt Boulton under CC BY-SA 2.0.

What Is MLS?

MLS stands for Major League Soccer, a league that was created in connection with the 1994 World Cup. You can find all the details about the league and information on watching the regular season in our MLS Viewer’s Guide.

MLS Playoffs

The MLS Cup playoff format is relatively simple. The top seven teams in both the Eastern and Western Conferences qualify with the top club in each receiving a bye in the first round.

Otherwise, it is a March Madness-type setup with one game per match-up and no reseeding. That one-match format throughout replaced the previous one, which included two legs apiece in the middle two rounds, in 2019.

Whichever club had the best MLS season record amongst the two participating teams is the host for the match. If the contest is tied at the end of 90 minutes, 30 minutes of extra time will be played in their entirety. If the score is also tied at the end of 120 total minutes, the teams will participate in a penalty shootout.

The 2022 MLS Cup Playoffs run from October 15th through November 5. This is earlier than most years due to the FIFA World Cup.

The Philadelphia Union and Los Angeles FC both get bye-weeks for winning their conferences.

2022 MLS Cup Playoff Schedule

  • Sat Oct 15 : FC Cincinnati (2) at New York Red Bulls (1) (TUDN, UniMás)
  • Sat Oct 15 : Nashville SC (0) at Los Angeles Galaxy (1) (TUDN, Univision)
  • Sun Oct 16 : Real Salt Lake (2) at Austin FC (2) (ABC, ESPN Deportes)
  • Sun Oct 16 : Orlando City (0) at CF Montréal (2) (ESPN, ESPN Deportes)
  • Mon Oct 17 : Inter Miami (0) at New York City FC (3) (FS1, ESPN Deportes)
  • Mon Oct 17 : Minnesota United (1) at FC Dallas (1) (FS1, ESPN Deportes)
  • Thu Oct 20 : Cincinnati (0) at Philadelphia Union (1) (FS1, ESPN Deportes)
  • Thu Oct 20 : Galaxy (2) at Los Angeles FC (3) (FS1, ESPN Deportes)
  • Sun Oct 23 : CF Montréal (1) vs NYCFC (3) (ESPN, ESPN3)
  • Sun Oct 23 : Austin FC (2) vs FC Dallas (1) (ESPN, ESPN Deportes)
  • Sun Oct 30 : Los Angeles FC (3) vs Austin FC (0) (ABC, ESPN3)
  • Sun Oct 30 : Philadelphia Union (3) vs NYCFC (1) (FS1, Fox Deportes)
  • Sat Nov 5 : Los Angeles FC (3) vs Philadelphia Union (3) (Fox, UniMás)

All times are EDT.

Where to Watch MLS

On a national level, Fox/FS1 (Fox Sports 1) and ABC/ESPN own broadcasting rights for MLS matches. They aired all the 2021 MLS playoff matches in English with Univision, UniMas, and TUDN airing the matches in Spanish. Some Spanish-language coverage also airs on Fox Deportes and ESPN Deportes.

Check back here for complete channel/streaming information once the schedule is set. For the regular season, see our thorough MLS Viewers’ Guide.

How to Watch MLS Cup

You have a number of options to stream MLS Cup.

FuboTV

fubotv logo

FuboTV ($69.99/mo) is your best option if you want access to both MLS’s English- and Spanish-language broadcasts as it offers Fox, FS1, ESPN, ESPN2, ABC, Univision, UniMas, and TUDN. (Note that you need to get the International Sports Plus add-on for $6.99/mo or Latino Plus add-on for $19.99/mo to watch games on ESPN Deportes and Fox Deportes.)

Sign Up for a Free Fubo Trial

You might also receive access to one or more RSNs that show locally produced MLS games. You also get unlimited cloud DVR storage and the ability to stream on 10 devices simultaneously.

See our FuboTV review for more details.

FuboTV MLS
Watch MLS with FuboTV.

DIRECTV STREAM

DIRECTV STREAM

DIRECTV STREAM (formerly AT&T TV) provides access to several MLS-related channels with its Entertainment plan ($69.99/mo). Its offerings of RSNs is where it most shines with almost all Bally Sports and NBC Sports channels. But you would need to upgrade to its Choice plan ($89.99/mo) to get those.

Get DIRECTV STREAM Free Trial

At this level, you get MLB Network and NBA TV. At the Ultimate level ($104.99/mo), you get NHL Network. UDN, ESPN Deportes, and Fox Deportes are only available through its Deportes package ($5/mo).

All plans come with unlimited cloud DVR and streaming on up to 20 devices. Read our DIRECTV STREAM review for more information.

Sling TV

Sling TV Logo (2021 100x50)

To watch MLS action through Sling, you will need to get its combined Orange & Blue plan ($50/mo) as the Orange one has the ESPN channels while the Blue one offers Fox-affiliated sports channels.

Save $25 on Sling TV Now

Note that although ABC is not available with either and Fox is only available in select markets, you can access games shown on those channels through Sling TV’s access to ESPN3 and Fox Live.

Our Sling TV review has more details.

Hulu + Live TV

hulu logo

Hulu + Live TV ($69.99/mo) offers ABC, Fox, ESPN, ESPN2, and FS1 and the ability to get Fox Deportes and ESPN Deportes through the Espanol add-on for $4.99/mo. Univision, UniMas, and TUDN are not available through this service, but it does come with ESPN+.

Get Hulu + Live TV for $59.99 Monthly

Hulu + Live TV does offer several RSNs that show MLS matches to local audiences. It allows you to stream on up to two devices at once and store an unlimited amount on its DVR.

Our Hulu + Live TV review provides all the details.

Note that YouTube TV offers a very similar plan with 85+ channels for $64.99/mo but without ESPN+.

Devices to Live Stream MLS

FuboTV Soccer Games
FuboTV’s Android app featuring soccer matches.

All the streaming services support Amazon Fire TV, Android mobile, Apple TV, Chromecast, iOS (iPhone, iPad), Roku, and web browsers.

FuboTV also supports the Xbox One and Android TV, LG, Samsung, Vizio, and Hisense smart TVs.

Hulu + Live TV supports all those devices plus Android TV, LG, Samsung, and Vizio smart TVs and Xbox, Nintendo Switch and PlayStation.

DIRECTV STREAM supports all the devices plus Samsung smart TVs and its own device.

Sling TV supports the devices plus the LG, Samsung, and Vizio smart TVs, Xbox, and Oculus.

Wrapping Up

If you are US-based and looking for English-language coverage of MLS Cup playoffs, FuboTV will serve you well. But it’s worth checking out Hulu + Live TV, DIRECTV STREAM, and Sling TV.

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