FOX Sports has announced that its soccer streaming service FOX Soccer Match Pass will shut down effective June 30, 2020.
During its heyday, FOX Soccer Match Pass streamed live soccer coverage from the Premier League, UEFA Champions League, Copa Libertadores, FA Cup and more to tens of thousands of soccer fans around the United States. But as FOX Sports continued to lose out on bidding for all of the rights it had to European soccer, the future of FOX Soccer Match Pass looked bleak at best.
With FOX Sports losing the Bundesliga rights to ESPN+ at the end of this season, the only league FOX Soccer Match Pass would have had on its streaming service was MLS, so it’s not a total surprise that FOX Soccer Match Pass had begun communicating with their subscribers in anticipation of pulling the plug on the product as the Bundesliga season drifted towards its end.
“As of June 30th, FOX Soccer Match Pass will discontinue its operation,” read an announcement on the streaming website. “As the Bundesliga moves to a new network, FOX will no longer be delivering its live or on demand game coverage to fans and the streaming site is shutting down.”
Looking back, the evolution of FOX Soccer Match Pass had a muddied history. From its origins as FOXSoccer.tv in 2010 to being rebranded as FOX Soccer 2GO to its eventual reincarnation as FOX Soccer Match Pass, the streaming platform will be remembered for two things. During the first half of its 10-year history, it was mired by a series of technical issues (which is one of the reasons why the product kept on changing its name), while the second half of its track record is remembered for being the most expensive soccer streaming service at $19.99/month even though the list of the leagues and competitions it had kept on dwindling.
Despite all of the frustrations and high prices, FOX Soccer Match Pass will have a soft spot among some soccer fans in the United States. It was the only way viewers could guarantee access to every single Bundesliga game while FOX Sports had the rights. Plus it was a testament to how the world of streaming soccer had evolved in ten years from the early beginnings to now, where many soccer fans consume most of their matches via streaming instead of television.
How to cancel your subscription to FOX Soccer Match Pass:
If you purchased a monthly FOX Soccer Match Pass subscription on the website or via their Android app, you can go to your Account Management page and select the “Cancel Auto Renewal” link under your Subscription details, and cancel at any time. Monthly subscriptions will be automatically canceled at the end of May, so if you wish to continue using FOX Soccer Match Pass until the end of the service, you don’t need to do anything.
If you purchased an annual FOX Soccer Match Pass subscription on the website or via their Android app, your annual subscription auto-renewal has already been canceled. You can check the status on your Account Management page under the Subscription details. If auto-renewal is still active, you can select the “Cancel Auto Renewal” link under your Subscription details.
If you purchased your FOX Soccer Match Pass subscription, either monthly or annual, as an in-app purchase on your iOS device, you can manage your subscription through iTunes by following these step by step instructions provided by Apple. FOX Soccer Match Pass is unable to cancel subscriptions purchased via iTunes, so it is crucial that you click on the link and follow the process.
If I am an annual subscriber, how do I seek a refund for future months?
If you purchased an annual FOX Soccer Match Pass subscription on the website or via their Android app extending beyond June 30th, you will be automatically refunded for any unused month, so you do not need to do anything. Refunds will be processed in June 2020, according to FOX Soccer Match Pass’s website.
If you purchased an annual FOX Soccer Match Pass subscription via iTunes, you must first cancel your subscription, then Request a Refund with iTunes.
