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Guide to Watching International Football in Thailand
Football has always had a special spot in our hearts here in Thailand. It’s one of our country’s most popular and watched sports events and we almost always find opportunities to watch the crucial games of the teams we are rooting for.
There are a number of ways for you to watch International Football events while in Thailand. Some of your options include online streaming, watching via mobile, using a VPN service, and even watching from your TV!
Of course, missing out on any of the major football games is a huge bummer. So, we’re here to tell you about how you can watch International Football games and the FIFA World Cup, no matter where you are in Thailand!
How to Watch the FIFA World Cup in Thailand For Free On Television
We’ve got very good news if you’re looking forward to watching the FIFA World Cup for free. It seemed like the Thai Government was able to secure a last-minute broadcast licence in the amount of 1.6 Million THB to televise the event on TV, free of charge!
Originally, we thought that the deal being ironed out by Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwa won’t push through and that we will either miss the entire FIFA World Cup or be granted just a limited number of football matches to watch.
Thankfully, the broadcast licence was finalised, and here’s even better news– 17 TV networks will broadcast all the matches on a rotation basis. It took all 17 networks to meet the price of the broadcast licence (1.6 Million THB) but we think it’s worth it.
This is because aside from televising all the football games of the FIFA World Cup, no single channel will have exclusive rights to the event, which means more channel options for you to tune in.
The schedule of the programming hasn’t been finalised yet but it has been confirmed that True4U will be the one to televise the first match.
We just need to wait for the official schedule of all the matches to find out which channel we will tune in to in order to watch the football teams we support.
To watch the FIFA World Cup in Thailand for free on television, just follow these simple steps:
Step 1: Know the schedule of matches.
First, you have to know the schedule of the football matches you want to watch. The 17 channels we mentioned earlier will be airing different matches so knowing the schedule will definitely be crucial here.
Step 2: Tune in and wait for the match to air.
Next, turn on your TV and tune in to the channel where the match you want to watch will air. Below are some of the TV channels that will broadcast the FIFA World Cup:
TV Channels in Thailand that will Stream the FIFA World Cup | JKN18 |
One 31 | |
Nation TV | |
GMM 25 | |
PPTV 36 | |
Mono 29 | |
Amarin TV | |
Thairath TV | |
TPBS | |
NBT | |
Channel (3,5,7,9) | |
T Sports 7 | |
True4U |
Step 3: Sit back, relax, and watch the game.
Once you’re tuned in and are able to catch the football match you want, just sit back, relax, and watch! Bring out some popcorn and drinks— but this is optional, of course.
Step 4: Rinse and repeat.
After enjoying that football match on TV, you just need to rinse and repeat! Go through steps 1 to 4 and watch the next available scheduled matches while cheering for your favourite football team.
How to Watch the World Cup Via Online Streaming in Thailand
Watching the different matches on different channels may sound like a football fan’s dream come true but here’s the problem.
Unless you have all 17 TV channels, you may have to miss one or two games and we don’t want that to happen especially if you are rooting for a particular team.
Here in Thailand, it’s common for some locals to lack around one to two TV channels on their cable package. Thanks to modern technology and the world wide web though, we have a workaround for this issue in the form of video streaming.
Missing one to three TV channels shouldn’t be an issue for you anymore since you can now enjoy those matches via the two streaming platforms available here in Thailand– ITV Hub and BBC iPlayer.
Online Streaming Service | Pros | Cons |
---|---|---|
ITV Hub | Free of Charge | Presence of ads during matches |
BBC iPlayer | Videos in 4K resolution | Extra charges on mobile data |
1. ITV Hub
ITV Hub is completely free and only requires you to register for their services. They refer to their product as a free-catch-up service which means that you can literally “catch up” on the TV shows that you missed.
Signing up is pretty easy as you can either do it via desktop and laptop or via a mobile device. If you’re going to use a desktop or laptop, just visit their website, click on “Sign In” and choose “Sign Up Now” to provide your details.
If you’re going to sign up via a mobile device ( Android or IOS), just download the ITV app and click on the MY ITV icon and select “Sign In”. From here, you can then complete your personal details and provide a password before completing your signup.
Once you have an account with ITV Hub (along with BBC iPlayer), you never have to miss a FIFA World Cup Game ever again. Thanks to both platforms taking the broadcast rights to televise the games alternatively, these apps have got you covered!
Do note though, that while ITV Hub’s services are free of charge including broadcasting the FIFA World Cup, some ads will show up during the matches.
2. BBC iPlayer
The BBC iPlayer is a video-on-demand service from the network giant BBC. It is free of charge but if you use it on mobile data, your operator may charge you extra costs depending on your usage.
To use this service, you just need to make sure that you have an active BBC account. Once you’ve signed up for the account, you are good to go.
You then simply have to log in to your BBC account on your device of choice. This could either be a desktop, laptop, mobile device, or even a smart TV.
While the BBC iPlayer only broadcasts around 50% of the total matches of the FIFA World Cup (33 out of the 66 matches), it does so in 4K resolution which we think is a fantastic way for football fans to enjoy their football matches.
As of this writing, you can’t access the BBC iPlayer from Thailand. There is a workaround though, as you can simply use a VPN to gain access to the service and watch all the football matches you want to your heart’s content!
How to Watch the FIFA World Cup on Your Mobile Phone
If you are just like the rest of the world and own a serviceable smartphone, then the good news is that you can also watch the FIFA World Cup from your mobile phone. This is a great option especially if you’re trying to save some money on electric bills.
Unfortunately, in Thailand, there are no platforms able to locally stream FIFA World Cup Matches. Still, you can gain access to these mobile phone apps and services by using VPNs.
Mobile App | Pros | Cons |
---|---|---|
JioCinema | Compatible with most devices | Doesn’t support 4K resolution |
ITVX | Compatible with most devices | Supports 4K resolution but only if paired with a premium VPN service |
BBC iPlayer App | Can stream videos in high definition | Limited compatibility |
1. JioCinema
This mobile app has announced that it will stream all the matches of the FIFA World Cup in India. Using a VPN, you can also access these streamed football matches from Thailand.
In addition, we liked that this mobile app is compatible with most mobile devices as it is primarily focused on an Indian Audience. The downside though, is that it doesn’t offer 4K resolution videos but at least the videos are buffer-free based on our experience.
2. ITVX
ITV owns this mobile app which is slated to be released right before (and specifically for) the FIFA World Cup. We are also excited as the company promised that the ITVX app will be compatible with most mobile devices.
If you want to stream in 4K resolution on the app, we recommend that you use a premium VPN service when streaming or using ITVX.
3. BBC iPlayer App
For hardcore football fans, watching matches in high resolution is simply a dream come true. Fortunately, they can try out the BBC iPlayer App which can stream videos in high definition.
While the app is compatible with both Android and IOS, not all phone models can handle the video quality of this app. Hence, we recommend that you check your phone’s specs first to figure out if your device can run the high-quality videos offered by this app.