# BeIN Sports (American TV channel)

BeIN Sports USA is an American pay television sports channel that launched on August 16, 2012. It is part of the BeIN Sports family of channels, a subsidiary of the Qatari-based BeIN Media Group.
BeIN Sports primarily airs soccer; featuring coverage of Ligue 1, along with other leagues in Europe. The channel also airs rugby, auto racing, handball, motorcycle racing, tennis and volleyball. A companion network, beIN Sports en Español, carries simulcasts or alternate programming primarily in Spanish, with both networks offering secondary Spanish or English commentary via the second audio program option.
As of December 2023, BeIN Sports is available in 8.97 million households in the United States that subscribe to a pay television service, while beIN Sports en Español is available in 6.152 million.

## History

BeIN Sports launched via DirecTV on August 16, 2012, coinciding with the start of the European soccer leagues 2012–13 season. The network would later launch on Dish Network the following day, Comcast on September 6, 2012 and Verizon FiOS in March 2013.
In 2016, BeIN Sports reached a deal with Conference USA to carry select football, basketball, baseball and softball games. This agreement ended after the 2018-19 season and was not renewed. Also in 2016, BeIN Sports began showing matches from the North American Soccer League.
In August 2018, several major television providers dropped the network; including AT&T (both DirecTV and U-verse), Verizon Fios and Xfinity.
In October 2018, the WTA Tour returned its broadcast rights back to Tennis Channel. Its contract with BeIN Sports (as part of a wider international deal) was criticized by fans for limiting the reach of its events due to inconsistent and intermittent scheduling (with scheduling conflicts favoring its soccer coverage) and declining carriage.
Based on numbers from Nielsen, beIN Sports was ranked as the lowest-rated broadcast or cable network in the United States in 2021 based on total viewers, with a 40% decline year-over-year.

## Programming
### Current
#### European soccer

* France: Ligue 1, Ligue 2
* Turkey: Süper Lig

#### South American soccer

* Copa Libertadores
* Copa Sudamericana
* Recopa Sudamericana

#### African soccer

* Africa Cup of Nations
* Women's Africa Cup of Nations
* CAF Champions League
* CAF Confederation Cup

#### Basketball

* Basketball Super League

#### Mexico-Centric Talk/Debate Shows (in Spanish only)

* La Octava Sports
* Xtra Time

#### Professional wrestling

* Major League Wrestling
** MLW Fusion
** Battle Riot III
** TV Specials (2023–present)

#### Combat sports

* BYB Extreme Bare Knuckle Fighting

### Former
#### European soccer

* Spain: Copa del Rey (exclude final) (until 2018–19)
* France: Coupe de la Ligue (until 2019–20), Coupe de France (through 2022), Trophée des Champions
* Sweden: Swedish Cup (semifinals and final)
* Spain: La Liga 2012–2021
* Italy: Serie A 2012–2017
* England: EFL Cup 2012–2015
* Austria: ÖFB Cup (final only)

#### Basketball

* Europe: Basketball Champions League

#### Handball

* EHF Champions League

#### Motorsports

* MotoAmerica (2016, 2017 and 2018)
* FIA World Rallycross Championship (WRX)
* SBK Superbike 2012–2018
* W Series
* World Touring Car Cup
* FIM Speedway Grand Prix

#### Tennis

* ATP World Tour 250

#### Gaelic games

* Gaelic Athletic Association

## Commentators

Effective January 22, 2024, beIN Sports USA/Canada talent in English and Spanish are based at MEDIAPRO Mexico studio in Mexico City, Mexico unless otherwise indicated below. Most talent who were based at MEDIAPRO US studio in Miami, Florida, US were released as of January 31, 2024.

### Studio host

English:
* Ramón Barrenechea (Lead)
Spanish:
* Claudia García (Lead)

### Play-by-Play

English:
* Ramón Barrenechea (Lead)
* Rodrigo Del Campo
* Fernando Cevallos (Emergency fill-in)
* Antonio Aquilino (Based at MEDIAPRO US studio in Miami, Florida, USA)
Spanish:
* Luis Fernando Ortiz (Lead)
* Oscar Francisco Cano
* Fernando Cevallos
* Andrés Terán
* Angel Jiménez
* Darío Daicz (Based at MEDIAPRO US studio in Miami, Florida, USA)

### Match Analyst / Studio Pundit

Spanish:
* Alex Aguinaga
* Oscar Francisco Cano
* Fernando Cevallos
* Luis Fernando Ortiz
* Andrés Terán
* Armando Melgar
* Rodrigo Del Campo
* Ramón Barrenechea
* Ángel Jiménez
* Carlos Hermosillo

## BeIN Sports Xtra/en Español

In 2019, BeIN Sports launched BeIN Sports Xtra, a FAST channel extension featuring select free sporting events and related programming. Like the main network, Xtra also has a complementary Spanish service, beIN Sports Xtra en Español (beIN Sports Xtra ñ).
The service is available on FuboTV, Sling TV, Pluto TV, The Roku Channel, Vizio, Redbox, Samsung TV Plus, Fanatiz, Klowd TV and Xumo. Xtra is also carried on over-the-air television stations in select markets.

### Former affiliates for BeIN Sports Xtra

| City | Station | Virtual channel | Owner |
| Arizona ||||
| Phoenix | K12XP-D | 22.6 | HC2 Holdings |
| Phoenix | KTVP-LD | 23.5 | HC2 Holdings |
| Colorado ||||
| Cripple Creek | KRDH-LD | 5.3 | HC2 Holdings |
| Florida ||||
| Jacksonville | WKBJ-LD | 20.4 | HC2 Holdings |
| Tampa | WTAM-LD | 30.3 | HC2 Holdings |
| Georgia ||||
| Savannah | WDID-LD | 26.2 | HC2 Holdings |
| Idaho ||||
| Boise | KBKI-LD | 27.3 | HC2 Holdings |
| Illinois ||||
| Chicago | WPVN-CD | 24.2 | HC2 Holdings |
| Springfield | W23EW-D | 41.4 | HC2 Holdings |
| Louisiana ||||
| Lafayette | K21OM-D | 20.4 | HC2 Holdings |
| Massachusetts ||||
| Boston | WLEK-LD | 22.2 | HC2 Holdings |
| Springfield | WTXX-LD | 34.2 | HC2 Holdings |
| Michigan ||||
| Midland | WFFC-LD | 17.6 | HC2 Holdings |
| Minnesota ||||
| Rochester | KMQV-LD | 49.1 | HC2 Holdings |
| Missouri ||||
| Kansas City | KCMN-LD | 42.5 | HC2 Holdings |
| St. Louis | KPTN-LD | 7.7 | HC2 Holdings |
| Springfield | KFKY-LD | 20.4 | HC2 Holdings |
| Nebraska ||||
| Lincoln | KAJS-LD | 33.6 | HC2 Holdings |
| Nevada ||||
| Las Vegas | KNBX-CD | 31.4 | HC2 Holdings |
| New Mexico ||||
| Santa Fe/Albuquerque | KQDF-LD | 25.1 | HC2 Holdings |
| Santa Fe/Albuquerque | KWPL-LD | 45.4 | HC2 Holdings |
| New York ||||
| New York City | W02CY-D | 45.2 | HC2 Holdings |
| North Carolina ||||
| Charlotte | W15EB-D | 21.2 | HC2 Holdings |
| Ohio ||||
| Canton/Cleveland | WQDI-LD | 20.3 | HC2 Holdings |
| Canton/Cleveland | KONV-LD | 28.1 | HC2 Holdings |
| Oklahoma ||||
| Enid (Tulsa) | KUOC-LD | 48.6 | HC2 Holdings |
| Oklahoma City | KOHC-CD | 45.1 | HC2 Holdings |
| Tennessee ||||
| Memphis | W15EA-D | 42.5 | HC2 Holdings |
| Texas ||||
| San Antonio | K17MJ-D | 51.1 | HC2 Holdings |
| Tyler | KCEB | 54.1 | HC2 Holdings |
| Wisconsin ||||
| Madison | WZCK-LD | 8.7 | HC2 Holdings |
| Milwaukee | WTSJ-LD | 38.3 | HC2 Holdings |

### Former affiliates for BeIN Sports Xtra en Español

| City | Station | Virtual channel | Owner |
| Alabama ||||
| Mobile | WEDS-LD | 29.2 | HC2 Holdings |
| Arkansas ||||
| Hot Springs | K23OW-D | 39.3 | HC2 Holdings |
| California ||||
| Sacramento | KFMS-LD | 47.1 | HC2 Holdings |
| Colorado ||||
| Cripple Creek | KRDH-LD | 5.4 | HC2 Holdings |
| Florida ||||
| Palm Beach | WDOX-LD | 32.1 | HC2 Holdings |
| Tampa | WTAM-LD | 30.4 | HC2 Holdings |
| Georgia ||||
| Savannah | WUET-LD | 43.2 | HC2 Holdings |
| Illinois ||||
| Mount Vernon | W09DL-D | 42.1 | HC2 Holdings |
| Louisiana ||||
| Lafayette | K21OM-D | 20.4 | HC2 Holdings |
| Massachusetts ||||
| Springfield | WTXX-LD | 34.4 | HC2 Holdings |
| Minnesota ||||
| Minneapolis | KJNK-LD | 25.5 | HC2 Holdings |
| Missouri ||||
| Kansas City | KQML-LD | 46.3 | HC2 Holdings |
| Nebraska ||||
| Lincoln | KAJS-LD | 33.6 | HC2 Holdings |
| Nevada ||||
| Las Vegas | KNBX-CD | 31.5 | HC2 Holdings |
| New York City | W02CY-D | 45.2 | HC2 Holdings |
| Pennsylvania ||||
| Philadelphia | W25FG-D | 36.1 | HC2 Holdings |
| Puerto Rico ||||
| Mayagüez | WOST | 14.6 | HC2 Holdings |
| San Juan | W20EJ-D | 26.6 | HC2 Holdings |
| Texas ||||
| Corpus Christi | KYDF-LD | 34.6 | HC2 Holdings |
| Fort Worth | K07AAD-D | 31.1 | HC2 Holdings |
| San Antonio | KVDF-CD | 31.4 | HC2 Holdings |
| Tyler | KKPD-LD | 30.4 | HC2 Holdings |