How to Watch the Euro 2008 Games Online

Monday is when the conflict begins for Euro 2008 fans outside of Europe, and especially in the US.

So much wonderful footy! And all of it during the workday!

Our assumption is that most of you who can’t watch the games as they happen are TIVOing them and watching them after work, the way they’re supposed to be watched: with beer. But for those who absolutely can’t wait… Well, we’d like to do our part for worker productivity.

First option for US Viewers: Check to see if your Service Provider offers ESPN360.com. The video is high-quality, and if your provider offers it, it’s free. If your internet provider doesn’t offer it, though? You’re out of luck. (If you go in to access video through the UEFA.com website, it will send you to ESPN360.)

If that doesn’t work for you, I am amazingly not finding any legit options in the US that allow you to pay in exchange for service. That doesn’t mean they’re not out there — just that this tournament is not using the ones we usually find. If you know of any, leave them in the comments and we’ll update this post.

In Europe, UEFA.com are offering a pay-per-view/tournament pass option, for pay. I can’t tell by looking at it whether or not this includes live games or just replays. Prices range from €1.99 for one match replay to €34.99 for “Annual Pass + EuroPass.” Whatever that is. If you use this, report back to us and we’ll use your experience to help your fellow fans.

Outside of these options, you can watch Euro 2008 games via some just-this-side-of-legal internet streams. If you’re new to streaming, here’s a fairly comprehensive how-to guide put together by World Cup Bloggers and veteran stream viewers Chris and Inara.

When it comes to somewhat questionable sites, there’s basically one streaming site, MyP2P.eu, and it’s fairly straight forward. Under Football click on the ‘Live’ TV icon next to the game under today’s date (the football link should take you directly there) and you’ll see a list of options down the page. Using the Software tab at the top of the page, download the appropriate program(s) - they’re listed right next to the stream - and simply open the application, click on the link which says ‘Play’ and it redirects you to the channel. The key is knowing that the higher the bit rate the better and which programs to use. SopCast is generally thought of as both the best and easiest program, while TVAnts is often a good option, but takes awhile to load.

Roja Directa is a good backup option if nothing materializes on MyP2P. On the left hand bar menu just click on the game and a menu will open underneath where you’ll see the same options to try, whether it be Sopcast, PPMate, TVAnts or otherwise. (MyP2P is still the easiest way to download the software).

-Chris

The first one is LiveFooty, which tends to have links for most big games. LiveFooty requires that you already have TVAnts and SopCast installed. The difference between this site and myp2p is that in LiveFooty, the game launches directly in your browser (as opposed to a separate application). It’s also very user friendly and requires a minimum amount of work on your part. I would recommend that you use Internet Explorer for this as Firefox doesn’t always recognize the plugins for SopCast and TVAnts. Chris has thoughtfully explained how to download the software for SopCast and TVAnts in his description of myp2p (above)

The second site I like is LiveTV. It used to be only in Russian, but they’ve recently started an English version of their website. On the left, you’ll see a bar of links to various sport streams. To access only the football streams, click the “football” tab at the top of the bar (it’s hard to see, but it’s there). Click on the match of your choice. If you’re lucky, there will be several links available for different software types, so choose the one you prefer and click the play button - the stream will open in a separate application. Don’t be alarmed if you see match links for programs other than TVAnts and SopCast. PPStream, TVU, and Pcast are other streaming programs, and it’s up to you if you want to experiment with it. But it takes time and practice to learn how to use these programs, and it’s often better to stick with TVAnts and SopCast, which are not only easier to use, but it’s easier to find help - and more match links!

The third site is called ChannelSurfing. This is where you’ll find the best quality streams - the problem is that streams for only the biggest and most popular teams are available. Clicking on the links will open a new window (or tab). Make sure to use Internet Explorer. Firefox doesn’t always work.

Remember, it takes time to figure out how the various streaming applications work. It’s mostly trial and error, and what works for you may not work for someone else. So you have to be patient as you figure out the best settings for your computer (it took me months to get the hang of TVAnts!).

-Inara