How to watch German Bundesliga football live
Catch the likes of Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund and Union Berlin in action
The English Premier League, Spanish LaLiga and Italian Serie A may be considered the Holy Trinity of European domestic football competitions, but Germany’s Bundesliga isn’t far behind.
Teams like the mighty Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund, Union Berlin and VfB Stuttgart enjoy some of the most dedicated fanbases in global football. Add players including Sadio Mane, Jude Bellingham, Jamal Musiala and Christopher Nkunku to the mix, it’s an electric 18-team competition starring some of the world’s biggest names.
The Bundesliga is considered a little less competitive than it was a few years ago. This is a pretty natural consequence of Bayern Munich finishing league champions for the past ten seasons in a row. That said, at the time of writing several teams remain in the running for the 2022/23 title. Bayern are sat at the top (quelle surprise) on goal difference, but Borussia Dortmund are level on points. Union Berlin, RB Leipzig, SC Freiburg and Eintracht Frankfurt all within eight points of the leaders with 22 of 34 total matches played. There’s still a lot to play for, clearly.
Tune in with a VPN
Want to watch the NBA with American commentators? Or tune into the football with Gary Neville? With a VPN, you can watch sports coverage from outside your own country. We’ve already compiled the best paid for VPN services of 2023, as well as which free VPN services can help you surf the internet in privacy. But all the major services have deals pretty much tailor-made for whatever protection and features you need from a VPN service. A few of our personal recommendations are:
Key dates in the German Bundesliga 2022/23 season
The Bundesliga season began on 5 August 2022 and its final match day will be 27 May 2023. The final of the German domestic cup, the DFB-Pokal, will take place on 3 June 2023. It’s a longer season than usual, owing to the 2022 World Cup taking place in the winter of 2022 and the resultant pause in domestic games.
How to watch the German Bundesliga on TV and streaming services
UK and Europe
In the UK and Ireland, Sky Sports has the exclusive rights to broadcast and stream German Bundesliga and DFB cup matches. Fans can watch via live channels like Sky Sports Football and Sky Sports Mix, and/or via the Sky Sports App. Not every match is covered, however. There are usually two or three games per week, shown on Fridays, Saturdays and/or Sundays. You can get Sky Sports via Sky’s satellite service, Sky Stream or a Now Sports Membership.
If you want access to every Bundesliga match live, you’ll have to use a VPN and sign up to a foreign streaming service. The likes of ExpressVPN (3000+ servers in 3,000 servers in 94 nations) and NordVPN (5400 servers across 60+ countries) offer deals perfectly tailored for Bundesliga viewing. Many even come with a few months free.
Elsewhere in Europe, the broadcaster(s) differ depending on your location. You can view a full list of the official Bundesliga broadcast partners here. (Note: this list covers the whole world, not just Europe.)
USA
In the USA, ESPN+ is the sole official way to watch the Bundesliga and DFB-Pokal. It shows all league games live and on-demand. A handful of games each season (at least four) will also be broadcast on the ‘main’ ESPN or ESPN2 linear channels.
ESPN+ is a paid-for add-on subscription service to ESPN’s broadcast TV channels. It feels like pretty much a must for any US-based football fan, as it also includes full coverage of the English Premier League, Spain’s LaLiga, the Dutch Eredivisie and Mexico’s Liga MX.
