How to Watch UEFA Euro 2016 Online

We are hours away from the start of UEFA Euro 2016 and fans all over are extremely excited. Are you ready? On June 10th we’ll have the amazing opportunity to witness the kick-off of what promises to be an adrenaline driven European football event. From this moment on, we’ll be spoiled with an entire month of great games and memorable moments filled with goals, saves, penalty kicks, and more.

This year the UEFA Euro Cup 2016 is hosted in France and include 24 qualified national teams of the old continent clashing in the fight for the cup. Will Spain manage to keep their title as the European champions for a third consecutive time? Only a little amount of time now stands between the final results.

https://youtu.be/QKqP36nymV4

If you’ve got tickets then you will have an unparalleled experience in France’s world class stadiums. If not, most of the games will be shown on national television, and you can watch them from the comfort of your home. However, not all games have the same coverage and the fight for prime time is quite fierce. Therefore not all television channels will have broadcasting rights to show certain games. However, it is possible to stream every single match online, if you know where to look. In this guide, I will provide a step-by-step tutorial on how to watch and live stream UEFA Euro 2016 matches online, from anywhere in the world, even while your travelling abroad.

How to Stream the Euro Cup Online

There are various broadcasters – TV channels that will be showing some of the games nationally, and often include their own online streams directly from their website. However, these streams are locked to the region, which means if you’re not in that country, it will not be made available to you. Additionally, you might not have a television cable subscription, and still depend on live online streams of euro. This is where the use of a VPN comes in. It allows you to connect to any server worldwide and appear as if you are in that country, allowing you to stream the Euro from any source. Here is an overview of the steps to take.

1. Signup for a good VPN service with global coverage.
2. Install the VPN app on your device – supports computers and smartphones.
3. Connect to a server in the country where the stream is available. Eg; UK for BBC
4. Browse to the stream, or use the available streaming app for mobile devices.

You can find a list of all the channels that have some broadcasting rights to the Euro 2016 on wikipedia. However, not all of these channels have online streams, or the rights to all of the games. Overall, I would suggest to stick to certain countries and services that have the most broadcasting rights this year.

For example, BBC and ITV both have complete live broadcasting rights, and can be used to stream the Euro Cup completely free of cost, making them the best choice if you are located relatively close to the United Kingdom. Therefore, if you’re living in the UK, suffice to say you already have complete live coverage and don’t need to use a VPN, but if you’re somewhere else overseas, you can simply connect to a UK VPN server to gain access to the live streams.

Because of all the different options available, I have made a summary guide for the major regions where you may prefer to watch the Euro Cup from. In order to use any of these services, free or paid, outside of that respective country, simply requires you to connect to a VPN server located in that country in order to unlock it. Additionally, you can find a great list of streams provided by LiveSoccer.tv.

Watch Euro 2016 Streams In, or From the USA

If you are in the United States, you will be able to watch the games on ESPN like so:

• 40 live online matches (in English) for free by ESPN
• You will be able to follow all the games on ESPN Radio
• If you want to see the games in Spanish, you can watch them on ESPN Deportes TV and Radio, as well as on ESPN+
• With ESPN3 USA you’ll have more access to details as they plan to show the games from 4 different camera angles
• You can also watch all the 51 games on ESPN Go, which requires a paid subscription, or a cable/satellite subscription to their channel.

The online player from ESPN (ESPN Go) is available for a wide range of devices, including some Smart TVs.

If you don’t like ESPN, another alternative for Euro 2016 online is SlingTV which is also only available in the US. If you are not locted in the USA but wish to use either of these streaming sources, simply use a VPN to connect to a US server, and unlock either or both online subscriptions.

… From France

Being that France is hosting this year’s Euro Cup, it’s only natural that every single game will be heavily televised across the nation. However, if you are outside of France, but wish to stream the games with French commentators, beIN Sports has been licensed to broadcast all 51 Euro 2016 matches live on their channel, as well as their online streaming platform; beIN Sports Connect. It does require a paid subscription, but is your best choice for French coverage of the Euro.

… From the UK

If you are in the UK, as mentioned you can watch the games on BBC and ITV for free. If you don’t have either of these channels, you can opt for live online streams of the Euro games through these UK services, free of cost.

• Watch live on BBC iPlayer Website
• Watch live on BBC iPlayer App for iPhone, iPad iOS – Android – Windows or Mac
• Watch live on ITV Website
• Watch live on ITV App for iPhone, iPad iOS

Best Option for Free Euro Cup Stream

As mentioned above, BBC iPlayer and ITV in the United Kingdom will be streaming the whole championship online, and both services can be used on desktop, mobile devices such as tables, iPads, iPhones and Android, or smart TV completely free of cost. You still have to pay for a month’s subscription for a fast VPN sevice, but not for the streaming apps. Therefore, as long as connecting to a UK server does not slow down your connection too much, the best option IMO for free Euro 2016 streams are these two:

Just like with any other streaming service, if you are located outside of the United Kingdom, simply connect to a UK VPN server in order to unlock iPlayer or ITV.

Final Overview

With any of these services (or others) all you have to do is follow the steps described above. The only requirement to unlock free or paid streaming services is to connect to a server in the country where the service is located. I prefer BBC iPlayer myself, and given that the service is free, the only extra cost was the monthly VPN service. Paid streaming services are not a bad choice either, as they ensure coverage, and high definition video on all matches. Alternatively, you can also opt for Smart DNS in order to unlock the services. It works by changing your DNS IP to a different location, but does not encrypt your web traffic. So again, to go over the necessary requirements.

1. Signup to a VPN or SmartDNS service – Install the software.
2. Connect to a country where stream is located. eg US for ESPN, UK for iPlayer.
3. Launch your online streaming service through website or app.
4. Use any stream of your choice or find various scheduled streams on LiveSoccerTV.

Top VPN Providers for Euro 2016

Below is a list of my top choices for best VPN providers to stream the France Euro Cup 2016 online. I base the results on key global coverage, speed, software compatibility, and service quality.

ExpressVPN

        

My number one choice for streaming usually falls on ExpressVPN. The service is not the cheapest, but for marginally more, you get some of the best VPN speed performance out there, which is important when streaming high definition sports. They provide excellent global coverage, making them a perfect choice for soccer fans.

Additionally, although it is not actively promoted on the website before purchasing the service, they also provide a Smart DNS service for Apple TV, XBox, and Playstation, so that you can directly unlock online streaming sites from those devices as well.

Below are some other great choices, such as IPVanish, which regularly updates their servers to upkeep the best possible speeds, and Overplay, their alternative SmartDNS focused service. Private Internet Access makes a great budget concious choice if you cannot afford much on the service, and NordVPN is an excellent in between selection, with competitive pricing and similar or equal performance to top service providers.

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Euro Cup 2016 Schedule – Eastern Time

Below is the full schedule for the tournament, you can bookmark this page for reference and ensure that you catch every game important to you. You can also download or view the official schedule in PDF format here.

GROUP STAGES

Friday, June 10^th:
4 p.m.- St-Denis: France vs. Romania

Saturday, June 11^th:
10 a.m. – Lens: Albania vs. Switzerland — Group A
1 p.m. – Bordeaux: Wales vs. Slovakia — Group B
4 p.m.  – Marseille: England vs. Russia — Group B

Sunday, June 12^th:
10 a.m. – Paris: Turkey vs. Croatia — Group D
1 p.m. – Nice: Poland vs. Northern Ireland — Group C
4 p.m. – Lille: Germany vs. Ukraine — Group C

Monday, June 13^th:
10 a.m. – Toulouse: Spain vs. Czech Republic — Group D
1 p.m. – St. Denis: Republic of Ireland vs. Sweden — Group E
4 p.m. – Lyon: Belgium vs. Italy — Group E

Tuesday, June 14^th:
1 p.m. – Bordeaux: Austria vs. Hungary — Group F
4 p.m. – St. Etienne: Portugal vs. Iceland — Group F

Wednesday, June 15^th:
10 a.m. – Lille: Russia vs. Slovakia — Group B
1 p.m. – Paris: Romania vs. Switzerland — Group A
4 p.m. – Marseille: France vs. Albania — Group A

Thursday, June 16^th:
10 a.m. – Lens: England vs. Wales — Group B
1 p.m. – Lyon: Ukraine vs. Northern Ireland — Group C
4 p.m. – St. Denis: Germany vs. Poland — Group C

Friday, June 17^th:
10 a.m. – Toulouse: Italy vs. Sweden — Group E
1 p.m. – St. Etienne: Czech Republic vs. Croatia — Group D
4 p.m. – Nice: Spain vs. Turkey — Group D

Saturday, June, 18^th:
10 a.m. – Bordeaux: Belgium vs. Republic of Ireland — Group E
1 p.m. – Marseille: Iceland vs. Hungary — Group F
4 p.m. – Paris: Portugal vs. Austria — Group F

Sunday, June 19^th:
4 p.m. – Lille: Switzerland vs. France — Group A
4 p.m. – Lyon: Romania vs. Albania — Group A

Monday, June 20^th:
4 p.m. – St. Etienne: Slovakia vs. England — Group B
4 p.m. – Toulouse: Russia vs. Wales — Group B

Tuesday, June 21^st:
1 p.m. – Paris: Northern Ireland vs. Germany — Group C
1 p.m. – Marseille: Ukraine vs. Poland — Group C
4 p.m. – Bordeaux: Croatia vs. Spain — Group D
4 p.m. – Lens: Czech Republic vs. Turkey — Group D

Wednesday, June 22^nd:
1 p.m. – Lyon: Hungary vs. Portugal — Group F
1 p.m. – St. Denis: Iceland vs. Austria — Group F
4 p.m. – Nice: Sweden vs. Belgium — Group E
4 p.m. – Lille: Italy vs. Republic of Ireland — Group E

ROUND OF 16

Saturday, June 25^th:
10 a.m. – St. Etienne
1 p.m. – Paris
4 p.m. – Lens

Sunday, June 26^th:
10 a.m. in Lyon
1 p.m. – Lille
4 p.m. – Toulouse

Monday, June 27^th:
1 p.m. – St. Denis
4 p.m. – Nice

QUARTERFINALS

Thursday, June 30^th:
4 p.m. – Marseille

Friday, July 1^st:
4 p.m. – Lille

Saturday July 2^nd:
4 p.m. – Bordeaux

Sunday July 3^rd:
4 p.m. – St. Denis

SEMIFINALS

Wednesday, July 6^th:
4 p.m. – Lyon

Thursday, July 7^th:
4 p.m. – Marseille

FINAL

Sunday, July 10^th:
4 p.m. – St. Denis

Hoping that I managed to offer a good solution to football lovers everywhere I am wishing you a wonderful experience with the Euro 2016 tournament!