Watching the FIFA World Cup is going to be a little different this year

YOU may be used to just switching on SBS for all the World Cup games, but this year you'll also need to fork out some cash.

THE most watched sports event on the planet, the FIFA World Cup, kicks off in less than a month and how you tune in is going to be a lot different this year.

Russia will be hosting the event, which will have billions of viewers across the world.

Kicking off on June 15 (with Russia v. Saudi Arabia from 1am AEST), the football tournament runs for four weeks, with 32 teams battling it out over 64 matches.

The first Socceroos game is at 8pm on Saturday, June 16 when Australia takes on one of the tournament favourites, France, in Kazan.

In the past, Aussie viewers could typically watch the matches on SBS, however this year the free-to-air channel will have a much smaller listing of live matches available.

This harks back to a deal struck two years ago between SBS and Optus Sport that meant SBS could show one English Premier League match live each round for three seasons.

In return, Optus Sport got rights to the World Cup, with 39 games to be exclusive to the telco.

SBS will only air 25 of the matches live, so if it doesn’t happen to be the one you’re after, you will need to join the Optus crowd.

Cup fans will not be locked into any contracts though, with Optus Sport now available for the first time at $14.99 per month. This deal is also available to non-Optus customers and Optus customers who were previously not eligible. Viewers will have access via Google Play and the Apple App Store.

Subscribers will also have full access to the official Optus Sport website, allowing them to watch the tournament on their laptop or computer.

Yes TV by Fetch will give you the full Optus televised access with a simple set-top box.

You can also stream all the matches on Apple TV through any Apple device — meaning you can watch the games on the go from the convenience of your smartphone.

Optus is also offering viewers on-demand replay.

Fans who don’t want to go with the Optus option can also stream on SBS’s The World Game website or through the official World Cup App, but this will still be the limited 25 matches only.

They will include:

• All Socceroos matches

• The opening match of the tournament

• The ‘game of the day,’ depending on highlights

• Two quarter-finals, semi-finals and the final.

If you feel like you don’t need to see all the glory, SBS radio will have audio coverage of all 64 matches.

Originally published as Watching the FIFA World Cup is going to be a little different this year