As Orlando City SC fans, we’re entitled to moan about failed playoff bids, referees and rain delays but one thing UK supporters can’t complain about is live televised games.
With a disappointing 2019 Major League Soccer campaign now over, Orlando City UK took this moment to reflect on how many Lions fixtures have been televised live in Great Britain this year.
With Premier Sports and the free-to-air FreeSports topping up Sky Sports’ live coverage as the home of Major League Soccer coverage in the UK, this trifecta of channels gave British Orlando City SC supporters the most comprehensive coverage of Lions fixtures to date.
With 19 out of Orlando City SC‘s 34 regular season fixtures selected for broadcast this season, you don’t need to be a mathematician to work out that just over half our 2019 fixtures were shown live on the telly.
Not only that but the 2019 MLS All-Star Game – hosted at Exploria Stadium – was also aired live on Sky Sports Main Event, Sky Sports Football and Sky Sports Mix in the early hours of August 1.
Nice work Sky Sports, Premier Sports and FreeSports!
Live televised Orlando City SC fixtures in 2019
| DATE | OPPONENT | TIME (GMT) | BROADCAST |
| Saturday, March 2 | vs. New York City FC | 19:30 | Sky Sports Football |
| Saturday, March 9 | at Chicago Fire | 18:00 | |
| Saturday, March 16 | vs. Montreal Impact | 20:00 | |
| Saturday, March 23 | at New York Red Bulls | 23:30 | Sky Sports Football |
| Sunday, March 31 | vs. D.C. United | 23:30 | Sky Sports Football |
| Sunday, April 7 | vs. Colorado Rapids | 00:30 | |
| Sunday, April 14 | at Real Salt Lake | 02:00 | |
| Saturday, April 20 | vs. Vancouver Whitecaps | 20:00 | Saturday, April 27 | at New York City FC | 18:00 | Saturday, May 4 | vs. Toronto FC | 21:00 | Sky Sports Football |
| Sunday, May 12 | at Atlanta United | 19:30 | Sky Sports Mix |
| Thursday, May 16 | at Seattle Sounders | 03:30 | FreeSports | Sunday, May 19 | vs. FC Cincinnati | 20:00 | Saturday, May 25 | vs. LA Galaxy | 00:00 | FreeSports | Saturday, June 1 | at Montreal Impact | 22:00 | Sky Sports Football |
| Thursday, June 27 | at D.C. United | 01:00 | Premier Sports 2 | Sunday, June 30 | at Columbus Crew | 00:30 | Thursday, July 4 | vs. Philadelphia Union | 00:30 | FreeSports | Sunday, July 7 | at Philadelphia Union | 21:30 | Sunday, July 14 | vs. Columbus Crew | 00:30 | Friday, July 19 | at Portland Timbers | 03:00 | FreeSports | Monday, July 22 | vs. New York Red Bulls | 00:30 | FreeSports | Sunday, July 28 | at New England Revolution | 00:00 | Thursday, August 1 | 2019 MLS ALL-STAR GAME | 01:00 | Sky Sports Main Event, Sky Sports Football, Sky Sports Mix | Sunday, August 4 | vs. FC Dallas | 00:30 | Premier Sports 1 | Sunday, August 11 | at Toronto FC | 00:30 | Premier Sports 1 | Thursday, August 15 | vs. Sporting Kansas City | 00:30 | FreeSports | Sunday, August 18 | at Minnesota United | 01:00 | Saturday, August 24 | vs. Atlanta United | 01:00 | FreeSports | Sunday, September 1 | at San Jose Earthquakes | 03:30 | FreeSports | Sunday, September 8 | vs. Los Angeles FC | 00:30 | Sky Sports Football | Sunday, September 15 | vs. New England Revolution | 00:30 | Sunday, September 22 | at Houston Dynamo | 01:30 | Premier Sports 2 | Sunday, September 29 | at FC Cincinnati | 22:00 | Sunday, October 6 | vs. Chicago Fire | 21:00 |
UK Orlando City SC access the best its ever been
Quite simply, access to live Orlando City SC fixtures in the UK has never been this good.
Despite the club’s failings to reach the MLS Cup Playoffs in five separate attempts, Orlando City SC continues to be a go-to choice for broadcasters looking to appease Brits with a casual to firm interest in Major League Soccer.
Ultimately, Major League Soccer’s less fashionable franchises such as Colorado Rapids, Columbus Crew and Houston Dynamo were selected for live broadcast far fewer times throughout the 2019 campaign.
Perhaps this can be put down to Brits’ fascination with The City Beautiful as a much-travelled holiday destination, not to mention the fact our Official International Fan Club of Orlando City SC has been established for four years now with a loyal band of 2.9k Twitter followers.
While Sky Sports televised just one Orlando City SC fixture (vs. Los Angeles FC) beyond June as our season showed little sign of picking up momentum, fortunately Premier Sports and FreeSports picked up the slack with consistent Orlando City SC broadcasts on almost a weekly basis.
Here at Orlando City UK, we’re convinced that Orlando City SC are the best supported MLS franchise in Great Britain and the amount of televised broadcasts this year underlines this point.