FutnSoccer Research | Apertura 2026 | Jornadas 1-10 | U.S. Market
Same league. Same 10-jornada stretch. Completely different price tags. FutnSoccer tracked 88 Liga MX matches and calculated what a US viewer could have needed to spend to follow each club. The lowest modeled total was $13.98 for Atlas. The highest was $83.97 for Puebla.
That is almost a sixfold difference just based on which team you support.
And the reason is not simply that one streaming service is expensive and another is cheap. Liga MX rights in the United States are spread across free broadcast television, streaming platforms and pay-TV services. Some clubs landed on free TV constantly. For other clubs, reaching the lowest modeled cost meant combining multiple paid services and billing periods.
We mapped the first 10 Liga MX jornadas fixture by fixture, priced the viewing options available for each match, and calculated the lowest modeled cost for every club.
For the current interactive numbers, see FutnSoccer’s Liga MX Watch Cost tool.
The six numbers that tell the story
- Nearly 6x: Atlas cost $13.98 to follow through Jornada 10. Puebla cost $83.97. Both had 10 matches in the study.
- 34 of 88: Nearly 4 out of every 10 Liga MX matches we tracked were available free over the air in the United States.
- 17 of 18 clubs: The lowest-cost setup in our analysis for 17 of 18 clubs used more than one paid service.
- 88 of 88: DIRECTV MiEspañol could cover every match in the study, making it the only paid option in our analysis with complete coverage of all 88 games.
- 26 matches: ViX was the cheapest paid option among the services we analyzed for more individual matches than any other service.
- 5 billing periods: Necaxa had the most complicated minimum-cost setup in our analysis. Atlas needed only one paid service.
Your Liga MX team can change your viewing bill dramatically
The difference between Atlas and Puebla is the clearest example of how uneven Liga MX viewing costs can be in the United States.
Atlas could be followed through the first 10 jornadas for a modeled total of $13.98, or $1.40 per match. Puebla’s minimum modeled total was $83.97, or $8.40 per match.
Those are not monthly subscription prices. They are cumulative modeled costs across the matches included in this study.
The median club landed at $64.97.
There is one important twist at the expensive end. Puebla had the highest total cost in our analysis, but Xolos Tijuana had the highest cost per match. Xolos had nine matches in the study and a modeled total of $79.97, which works out to $8.89 per game.
| Club | Matches | Lowest modeled cost | Cost per match | Paid services used | Billing periods |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Atlas | 10 | $13.98 | $1.40 | 1 | 2 |
| Cruz Azul | 10 | $26.98 | $2.70 | 2 | 2 |
| Chivas Guadalajara | 10 | $33.97 | $3.40 | 2 | 3 |
| FC Juárez | 10 | $48.98 | $4.90 | 2 | 2 |
| Tigres UANL | 10 | $50.98 | $5.10 | 2 | 2 |
| Club America | 9 | $54.98 | $6.11 | 2 | 2 |
| Monterrey | 9 | $61.97 | $6.89 | 3 | 3 |
| Atlético de San Luis | 10 | $64.97 | $6.50 | 3 | 3 |
| León | 10 | $64.97 | $6.50 | 3 | 3 |
| Pachuca | 10 | $64.97 | $6.50 | 3 | 3 |
| Atlante | 10 | $71.96 | $7.20 | 3 | 4 |
| Pumas UNAM | 10 | $72.98 | $7.30 | 2 | 2 |
| Querétaro | 9 | $72.98 | $8.11 | 2 | 2 |
| Santos Laguna | 10 | $72.98 | $7.30 | 2 | 2 |
| Toluca | 10 | $72.98 | $7.30 | 2 | 2 |
| Necaxa | 10 | $73.95 | $7.40 | 2 | 5 |
| Xolos Tijuana | 9 | $79.97 | $8.89 | 3 | 3 |
| Puebla | 10 | $83.97 | $8.40 | 3 | 3 |
Why some clubs have nine matches: the study includes 88 eligible fixtures from Jornadas 1-10. Two Jornada 7 matches fell outside the analyzed window, so four clubs have nine matches instead of 10. That is why we show both total cost and cost per match.
Free TV was a huge part of the difference
The lowest-cost clubs had something valuable in common: a lot of their games were available on free broadcast television.
34 of the 88 matches in this study were available free over the air in the United States. That is 38.6% of the schedule we analyzed.
Atlas, Cruz Azul and Chivas Guadalajara each had six matches available free over the air. Necaxa had only one.
That helps explain the price gap immediately. Every game a fan can receive free on broadcast television is one less game that has to be covered by a paid service.
The free-TV numbers also show why broad statements such as “Liga MX costs X dollars per month” are not especially useful. Two fans can follow the same league and face completely different costs because their clubs appear on very different combinations of networks and services.
What counts as free: free over the air means a broadcast available through a local TV affiliate and antenna where reception is available. Local reception varies by market and household. Free trials and temporary streaming promotions are not counted as free viewing in this study.
The cheapest setup usually required more than one service
If there is one frustrating number in the study, it is this: the lowest-cost setup in our analysis for 17 of the 18 clubs used more than one paid service.
Atlas was the lone exception.
Ten clubs needed two paid services. Seven needed three.
And service count does not tell the whole story, because the timing of the schedule matters too. A subscription period that covers several matches can be much more efficient than paying for separate months farther apart on the calendar.
Nine clubs reached their lowest modeled total with two billing periods. Seven needed three. Atlante needed four. Necaxa needed five, the most in our analysis.
The billing periods in this study are part of the cost calculation. They are not recommendations telling readers when to start, stop or change a subscription.
The simple option usually cost more
We also asked a different question: what happens if a fan wants to avoid mixing several paid services?
For each club, we calculated a one-service benchmark and compared it with the lowest modeled combination.
17 of 18 clubs had a lower modeled cost when multiple viewing options were allowed. Atlas was the only club where the minimum-cost result and the one-service benchmark were the same.
The average difference was $22.62.
The biggest gaps belonged to Cruz Azul and León, each $49 lower in the lowest-cost model than in the one-service benchmark. Chivas Guadalajara and Atlante were each $42.01 lower. Necaxa was $40.02 lower.
For Pumas UNAM, Querétaro, Santos Laguna and Toluca, the difference was only $3.
That is why this study treats cost and convenience as two different things. A setup using fewer services may be easier to manage. A setup using several services may be less expensive. Neither is automatically the better choice for every household.
One service reached all 88 games, but ViX was cheapest most often
The service comparison produced one of the most interesting results in the study.
Within our analysis, DIRECTV MiEspañol could cover all 88 matches. It was the only paid option we analyzed with complete coverage of the study’s 88 games.
But broad coverage and low price are not the same thing.
ViX was the cheapest paid option among the services we analyzed for 26 individual matches, more than any other paid service in the study, even though ViX was available for only 37 of the 88 fixtures.
| Service | Matches available | Share of study | Price used | Cheapest paid option for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DIRECTV MiEspañol | 88 | 100.0% | $37.99 | 0 matches |
| YouTube TV Spanish Plan | 50 | 56.8% | $34.99 | 16 matches |
| ViX | 37 | 42.0% | $6.99 | 26 matches |
| Fubo Latino | 21 | 23.9% | $19.99 | 0 matches |
| FOX One | 15 | 17.0% | $19.99 | 8 matches |
| Peacock | 13 | 14.8% | $10.99 to $12.99 depending on period | 4 matches |
‘Matches available’ overlaps across services, so that column should not be added together. The ‘cheapest paid option for’ column assigns each of the 54 paid fixtures to exactly one service and sums to 54. Eight fixtures tied at $19.99/mo between FOX One and Fubo Latino; the model credits ties to one service in alphabetical order, so all eight count toward FOX One. Prices shown are historical prices used for this study, not promises of current or future pricing..
DIRECTV MiEspañol’s strength in our analysis was consolidation. Its channel and service access allowed one billing period to cover matches that otherwise could be spread across different viewing options.
That is why MiEspañol appeared in the lowest-cost combination for 12 of the 18 clubs, even though another paid service we analyzed was cheaper for an individual fixture.
ViX showed the opposite pattern. Its overall reach was much smaller, but its $6.99 historical price made it the cheapest paid option among the services we analyzed for more individual matches than any other service.
The YouTube TV Spanish Plan reached 50 matches and was the cheapest paid option we analyzed for 16. FOX One was the cheapest paid option for 8 matches; Fubo Latino tied FOX One at $19.99/mo on those same 8 but was not the model’s pick. Peacock had four.
For current channels and streaming options rather than this historical cost analysis, see FutnSoccer’s Liga MX U.S. TV and streaming guide.
Chivas fans had it much cheaper than Club America fans
The league’s two biggest brands provide another useful comparison.
Chivas Guadalajara came in at $33.97 across 10 matches, the third-lowest total in our analysis.
Club America came in at $54.98 across nine matches.
Chivas had six matches available free over the air during the study period. Club America had five.
The paid portions of their schedules were also different. Chivas’ lowest-cost setup used Fubo Latino and ViX. Club America’s used FOX One and the YouTube TV Spanish Plan.
That $21.01 difference is another example of why popularity has little to do with the viewing cost calculated in this study. The important factors are where the games land and how those broadcasts line up on the calendar.
For current team-specific viewing information, see FutnSoccer’s Chivas Guadalajara viewing guide and Club America viewing guide.
How FutnSoccer calculated the costs
Scope: Liga MX Apertura 2026, Jornadas 1-10, United States only. The study includes 88 matches.
Match research: FutnSoccer researched the U.S. viewing options for every fixture using broadcaster schedules, provider listings, official releases and other credible match-specific sources. The underlying research records the source, publisher, date, viewing platform and supporting details for each listing.
Cost calculation: Once the viewing options were mapped, FutnSoccer calculated the lowest cumulative subscription cost needed to cover every match for each club during the study period.
Price ties: when two paid services had the same lowest monthly price for a fixture, the model credits the fixture to one service in alphabetical order. Eight fixtures tied at $19.99 per month between FOX One and Fubo Latino; all eight count toward FOX One in the per-service totals
Historical pricing: The study uses recurring subscription prices that applied during the analyzed period. These are historical research inputs, not current offers or guarantees of future pricing.
Price changes: When a service changed price during the study period, the calculation uses the price that applied to the relevant billing period. Peacock, for example, was priced at $10.99 for earlier periods and $12.99 for later periods.
Billing periods: Paid services are calculated in month-to-month coverage periods beginning on the relevant date. There is no prorating. One billing period can cover several matches when their dates overlap.
Free television: Matches available free over the air are priced at $0. Free trials, temporary promotions and authenticated access tied to a paid service are not treated as free viewing.
ViX: When a match listing established ViX availability without identifying a specific subscription tier, the cost calculation uses a paid ViX subscription. It does not treat an unspecified ViX listing as free.
Service coverage: A paid service can cover a match through the television channels or streaming access included with that service. This allows the study to measure the practical coverage of the services included in our analysis rather than relying only on individual match landing pages.
One-service benchmark: The study also calculates what it would cost to cover a club using one qualifying paid service instead of the lowest-cost mix. DIRECTV MiEspañol is the one-service benchmark for 17 clubs. Atlas’ one-service benchmark is ViX.
What the numbers do not mean: These figures are not universal household bills. A viewer may already subscribe to one or more services. Taxes can vary. Local antenna reception varies. Service prices can change. The totals cover only Jornadas 1-10 and should not be read as full-season projections.
Why this research matters
Liga MX television coverage in the United States is usually explained one match at a time: tonight’s channel, this weekend’s streaming service, next week’s schedule.
That makes a bigger question surprisingly difficult to answer:
That is what this project is designed to measure.
By tracking the league as structured viewing data instead of a series of isolated listings, FutnSoccer can compare clubs, measure how much free television matters, show where service fragmentation creates extra cost, and track how the U.S. viewing landscape changes over time.
This first report covers only the opening 10 jornadas of the Apertura 2026. Future editions can show whether the cost of watching Liga MX rises or falls, whether more matches move behind paid services, and whether the league becomes easier or harder for U.S. fans to follow.
That historical record may ultimately be more useful than any single number in this report.
Cite this study: FutnSoccer, “We Tracked 88 Liga MX Games. Following One Club in the U.S. Could Cost Nearly 6 Times More Than Another,” Apertura 2026 interim viewing-cost study, October 3, 2026.
Online citations should link to this research page so readers can review the methodology and study scope.
Study information
Competition: Liga MX Apertura 2026
Study period: Jornadas 1-10
Matches analyzed: 88
Market: United States
Research updated: October 3, 2026
Writers: FutnSoccer Editorial Team
Current data: The Liga MX Watch Cost tool is the live version of this research and may contain newer information as the tournament continues.
Editorial independence: This research report contains no affiliate links or signup calls to action. FutnSoccer may have commercial relationships with television or streaming companies elsewhere on the site, but those relationships do not determine the data, calculations or rankings in this study.
FutnSoccer is an independent publication and is not endorsed by or officially associated with Liga MX, its clubs, or the television and streaming services discussed here. Club and service names are used for identification. Trademarks belong to their respective owners.
For ongoing coverage, visit FutnSoccer’s Liga MX section.