For the most part, your days of watching world sporting events on tape delay, or in the wee hours of the morning are over until the Pyeongchang Olympics in 2018. The next two major international events — the World Cup and the 2016 Olympics — are both based in Brazil. For NBC — and especially this year, ESPN — that is a very good thing.
As usual, the networks of ESPN will air every World Cup match. 43 of them will be broadcast by the Worldwide Leader, including both semifinals and the third-place match. ABC will air the final, along with nine other matches. ESPN2 will chip in with 11 others. This will be the final World Cup broadcast on the networks of ESPN until at least 2026, as Fox has won the english-language rights to both 2018 and 2022.
The U.S. men's national team's pool play games will all air on ESPN, and two of them in fairly decent hours. June 16 against Ghana and June 22 against Portugal are both at 5:30 p.m. ET, with the Portugal showdown taking place on a Sunday. While the Germany match will be on the following Thursday at 11:30 in the morning on the east coast, if the United States has a chance to advance to the elimination round, people will make time to to watch.
| Date/Time | Match (Pool) | Network |
| June 12, 3:30 p.m. ET | Brazil vs. Croatia (A) | ESPN |
| June 13, 11:30 a.m. ET | Mexico vs. Cameroon (A) | ESPN2 |
| 2:30 p.m. ET | Spain vs. Netherlands (B) | ESPN |
| 5:30 p.m. ET | Chile vs. Australia (B) | ESPN2 |
| June 14, 11:30 a.m. ET | Colombia vs. Greece (C) | ABC |
| 2:30 p.m. ET | Uruguay vs. Costa Rica (D) | ABC |
| 5:30 p.m. ET | England vs. Italy (D) | ESPN |
| 8:30 p.m. ET | Ivory Coast vs. Japan (C) | ESPN |
| June 15, 11:30 a.m. ET | Switzerland vs. Ecuador (E) | ABC |
| 2:30 p.m. ET | France vs. Honduras (E) | ABC |
| 5:30 p.m. ET | Argentina vs. Bosnia-Herzegovina (F) | ESPN |
| June 16, 11:30 a.m. ET | Germany vs. Portugal (G) | ESPN |
| 2:30 p.m. ET | Iran vs. Nigeria (F) | ESPN |
| 5:30 p.m. ET | Ghana vs. United States (G) | ESPN |
| June 17, 11:30 a.m. ET | Belgium vs. Algeria (H) | ESPN |
| 2:30 p.m. ET | Brazil vs. Mexico (A) | ESPN |
| 5:30 p.m. ET | Russia vs. South Korea (H) | ESPN |
| June 18, 11:30 a.m. ET | Australia vs. Netherlands (B) | ESPN |
| 2:30 p.m. ET | Spain vs. Chile (B) | ESPN |
| 5:30 p.m. ET | Cameroon vs. Croatia (A) | ESPN |
| June 19, 11:30 a.m. ET | Colombia vs. Ivory Coast (C) | ESPN |
| 2:30 p.m. ET | Uruguay vs. England (D) | ESPN |
| 5:30 p.m. ET | Japan vs. Greece (C) | ESPN |
| June 20, 11:30 a.m. ET | Italy vs. Costa Rica (D) | ESPN |
| 2:30 p.m. ET | Switzerland vs. France (E) | ESPN |
| 5:30 p.m. ET | Honduras vs. Ecuador (E) | ESPN |
| June 21, 11:30 a.m. ET | Argentina vs. Iran (F) | ESPN |
| 2:30 p.m. ET | Germany vs. Ghana (G) | ESPN |
| 5:30 p.m. ET | Nigeria vs. Bosnia-Herzegovina (F) | ESPN |
| June 22, 11:30 a.m. ET | Belgium vs. Russia (H) | ABC |
| 2:30 p.m. ET | South Korea vs. Algeria (H) | ABC |
| 5:30 p.m. ET | United States vs. Portugal (G) | ESPN |
| June 23, 11:30 a.m. ET | Netherlands vs. Chile (B) | ESPN |
| 11:30 a.m. ET | Australia vs. Spain (B) | ESPN2 |
| 3:30 p.m. ET | Croatia vs. Mexico (A) | ESPN |
| 3:30 p.m. ET | Cameroon vs. Brazil (A) | ESPN2 |
| June 24, 11:30 a.m. ET | Italy vs. Uruguay (D) | ESPN |
| 11:30 a.m. ET | Costa Rica vs. England (D) | ESPN2 |
| 3:30 p.m. ET | Japan vs. Colombia (C) | ESPN |
| 3:30 p.m. ET | Greece vs. Ivory Coast (C) | ESPN2 |
| June 25, 11:30 a.m. ET | Nigeria vs. Argentina (F) | ESPN |
| 11:30 a.m. ET | Bosnia-Herzegovina vs. Iran (F) | ESPN2 |
| 3:30 p.m. ET | Ecuador vs. France (E) | ESPN |
| 3:30 p.m. ET | Honduras vs. Switzerland (E) | ESPN2 |
| June 26, 11:30 a.m. ET | United States vs. Germany (G) | ESPN |
| 11:30 a.m. ET | Portugal vs. Ghana (G) | ESPN2 |
| 3:30 p.m. ET | South Korea vs. Belgium (H) | ESPN |
| 3:30 p.m. ET | Algeria vs. Russia (H) | ESPN2 |
| June 28, 11:30 a.m. ET | Round of 16, Match 49 (1A vs. 2B) | ABC |
| 3:30 p.m. ET | Round of 16, Match 50 (1C vs. 2D) | ABC |
| June 29, 11:30 a.m. ET | Round of 16, Match 51 (1B vs. 2A) | ESPN |
| 3:30 p.m. ET | Round of 16, Match 52 (1D vs. 2C) | ESPN |
| June 30, 11:30 a.m. ET | Round of 16, Match 53 (1E vs. 2F) | ESPN |
| 3:30 p.m. ET | Round of 16, Match 54 (1G vs. 2H) | ESPN |
| July 1, 11:30 a.m. ET | Round of 16, Match 55 (1F vs. 2E) | ESPN |
| 3:30 p.m. ET | Round of 16, Match 56 (1H vs. 2G) | ESPN |
| July 4, 11:30 a.m. ET | Quarterfinal, Match 58 (W53 vs. W54) | ESPN2 |
| 3:30 p.m. ET | Quartefinal, Match 57 (W49 vs. W50) | ESPN |
| July 5, 11:30 a.m. ET | Quarterfinal, Match 60 (W55 vs. W56) | ABC |
| 3:30 p.m. ET | Quarterfinal, Match 59 (W51 vs. W52) | ESPN |
| July 8, 3:30 p.m. ET | Semifinal, Match 61 (W57 vs. W58) | ESPN |
| July 9, 3:30 p.m. ET | Semifinal, Match 62 (W59 vs. W60) | ESPN |
| July 12, 3:30 p.m. ET | Third-Place Match (L61 vs. L62) | ESPN |
| July 13, 3:30 p.m. ET | World Cup Title Match (W61 vs. W62) | ABC |
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