Copa America 2016 & European Championship 2016

You may have heard soccer referred to as the “beautiful game.” Maybe you agree, maybe you don’t, but for sure you should like it this summer with the arrival of two major international competitions.

Starting Friday, June 3rd, the Copa America 2016 lands on US soil for the first time ever. On the following Friday, June 10th, the European Championship kicks off, often referred to as the “real World Cup.” The great news is they both air during different revenue periods and are 100% on regular TV channels.

If you don’t remember, the Copa America 2016 was central to this past year’s FIFA corruption scandal, complete with federal indictments, international intrigue, and embarrassing perp walks. That’s all behind us now and the event is sure to be a big deal with venues coast to coast hosting many of football’s (soccer to you and me) international elite. Names like Messi and Ronaldinho take over storied venues like Soldier Field and Giant’s Stadium.

There is plenty of mid-week action with games all-day to keep your guests excited and, as the host nation, the US gets to participate as well. Check out the schedule below to so you can plan for the three guaranteed games, including the USMNT.

Copa America 2016

Click your time zone to download your TV schedule

Eastern | Central | Mountain | Pacific

The European Championship began in 1960 and has flourished ever since. This year’s event is hosted by France, and the big question is can Spain win its third Euro title in a row. They are favored to take it and given that 300 million people watched the 2012 Euro Finals, this should be highly requested programming.

The clear advantage the Euro delivers to operators are the times the games are played. On the East Coast, most of the games begin either just before lunch at 11:30am or mid-afternoon at 2:30pm. On the West Coast, those games are 8:30am and 11:30am, meaning you will may see some additional breakfast and lunch traffic. This is especially true if you are in an area with lots of ex-patriots. Those communities tend to be larger around universities and big cities.

European Championship 2016

Click your time zone to download your TV schedule

Eastern | Central | Mountain | Pacific

Both of these events are on regular broadcast TV, so there are no barriers to you showing the games, even if you aren’t a serious sports bar. It’s a unique opportunity to prove to your guests that you know what they want and it doesn’t cost you anything to demonstrate it.

Oh yeah, and if those two tournaments aren’t enough to subdue your summer blues, the Rio Olympics begin in August. It should be a great summer for sports viewing with exciting action running straight through until football begins.

Enjoy and go Team USA!