We are in a period of soccer boom in the United States. Yes, yes, I know you’ve heard that for years. It goes back to a Brazilian named Edson Arantes do Nascimento, unveiled in June 1975 at New York’s 21 Club.
But listen to me.
This month, Lionel Messi, the god of football today, joined Inter Miami from the MLS. It’s a massive commitment that will ultimately change the level of football discussion in the United States. The National Women’s Soccer League plans to expand to 14 teams in 2024 and then add two more clubs by 2026. Next year, the United States will host the Copa América, the biannual soccer championship organized by CONMEBOL, the South American soccer federation, and featuring world powers like Messi’s Argentina and Brazil, along with six teams from North America’s CONCACAF (to which until qualification also includes the men’s national teams of the USA and Mexico). Then comes the ultimate moment: the 2026 World Cup will be co-hosted by 16 cities in three North American countries: Canada, Mexico and the United States.
The Women’s World Cup, which begins this week, is an extension of that football bounty, and in terms of tonnage, the next four weeks will see you as a spectator inundated with quality football (especially if you’re willing to watch). every evening). Fox Sports will broadcast all 64 matches of the Women’s World Cup live from Thursday to August 20th. There are 29 matches on Fox – the most matches of a Women’s World Cup ever broadcast on an English-language network in the US – while 35 are broadcast on FS1. The quarterfinals, semifinals, third place match and final will all be televised on Fox. Every game will be streamed live on the Fox Sports App and the tournament will be broadcast in 4K.
Telemundo owns the Spanish language rights to the event (as well as the 2024 Olympics and the 2026 Men’s World Championships). See Telemundo coverage here, here and here, including 33 games on Telemundo – the most women’s games ever World Cup games on any channel in US television history – 31 on Universo and every game streamed live on Peacock.
The biggest challenge for US broadcasters at this Women’s World Cup is the time difference as the tournament takes place in Australia and New Zealand. Sydney is 14 hours ahead of Eastern Time. New Zealand has a time zone that is 16 hours ahead of Eastern Time. The finale, which is also expected to be attended by the US, will air August 20 at 6 p.m. ET. The first semi-final will air on August 15 at 4 p.m. ET, while the second semi-final will air on August 16 at 6 p.m. ET.
The USA’s victory over the Netherlands in France four years ago drew a combined average of 16.9 million viewers on Fox and Telemundo, including 15.57 million viewers on Fox. USA’s victory over Japan in the final of the 2015 Women’s World Cup (held in time-friendly Canada) drew an impressive 25.4 million viewers. Of course, given the time window, this will be difficult to reproduce.
“It’s far from an optimal window of opportunity, but at the same time, you’re hoping to gain momentum over time,” said David Neal, executive producer of Fox’s World Cup coverage and vice president of production. “They hope that the momentum and excitement that the U.S. brings as they attempt to accomplish what no team has yet, which is to win three straight world championship titles, as well as the patriotic way of flying the flag to cover and cheer for Team USA, that gives us enough audience.”
The schedule offers a good start to the group stage for Fox. The Americans’ opener against Vietnam will air Friday at 9 p.m. ET on Fox. The second US game is a re-enactment of the World Cup final from four years ago and will air Wednesday, July 26 at 9:00 p.m. ET. USA’s final game in the group stage will be against Portugal and will air at 3:00pm ET on Tuesday, August 1st.
If the Americans win their group, as expected, their first game in the knockout stages would also be timely and would air on Saturday, August 5 at 10:00 p.m. ET. Should they win that, their quarterfinal match would air at 9:00pm ET on Thursday, August 10th.
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“The first two games are the best group stage game you can get and in a great window,” said Neal. “In each of these tournaments, we try to create viewing habits. So we have these two US women’s stage games and one that you can really promote when they play the Dutch women. We hope that we arouse enough interest. We know the challenges of getting up late in the evening. But if US women capture people’s imaginations, we think it will pay off for us.”
JP Dellacamera – who, along with partner Aly Wagner, will officiate all US games as well as Thursday’s final and tournament opener – says he’s not worried about viewership.
“We are a footballing nation and have been for years,” Dellacamera said. “Bars open early; They will close late. People will go to parties. I’m not worried about viewership. If, for the sake of argument, the final was at 3 a.m. and the USA played, I take the risk that the rating will be very good.”
While Fox can’t control the location, it can control who calls the tournament between its game coverage and studio programming. Three announcement teams will be on site in Australia and New Zealand – the executive team of Dellacamera and Wagner, and the teams of Jacqui Oatley and Lori Lindsey, and John Strong and Kyndra de St. Aubin. Teams Kate Scott and Danielle Slaton, along with Jenn Hildreth and Warren Barton, will announce the games from Fox’s Los Angeles headquarters. You can see the entire broadcast group below. Here are the group stage transfer assignments.
Fox’s studio presentation for the men’s World Cup in Qatar was heavily criticized – and rightly so. Those who had access to other national channels, such as B. TSN in Canada, or remember when ESPN had its chance as a World Cup broadcaster, saw intensive discussions about non-American teams at studio shows and were trained in tactics. These networks did not engage in discussions on human rights issues, either in Qatar or elsewhere. In comparison, I think Fox’s analysis of the Women’s World Cup was much better for viewers. Neal said he thinks Carli Lloyd, who will play a key role in this coverage as senior studio analyst, will be fantastic for viewers.
“The first three times I contacted her or people at US soccer to ask if she would be interested in broadcasting after she retired, we kind of got the Heisman Trophy pose,” Neal said. “It was, ‘Stay away, I’m not that interested.’ When she finally decided to try it, I think she really liked the experience. She will be the main voice of our coverage from start to finish and I think that’s a very obvious improvement.”
Viewers will also have the opportunity to watch the World Cup Now pre- and post-game shows on Twitter, including commentary and analysis from hosts Leslie Osborne, Jimmy Conrad and Melissa Ortiz, as well as local broadcasters.
Ever since he was named executive producer of Fox’s Fox coverage in 2012, Neal has been consistent when it comes to keeping the substantive discussion on the field.
“We’re going to do what we do best, which is tactics, games and results,” Neal said. “But at the same time we don’t have a ban on topics. American women have been at the heart of the ongoing debate about equal pay, and that makes it relevant to our viewers. We don’t have an iron mandate that it won’t be discussed. However, we believe that the majority of viewers will follow the results on the field. In Qatar they voted with their remote controls and we got huge votes as we focused on the pitch.”
Fox traditionally highlights a team outside of the United States – that choice is, unsurprisingly, Mexico for the men’s World Cup – and Neal said Fox’s coverage gives a particular focus to the Australian women’s team.
“The intended team of interest is the home team, Australia,” said Neal. “I’ve always believed, whether it’s the Olympics or the World Cup, you can’t overestimate the power of home field advantage, especially in Australia which is so wonderfully passionate about sport. The Matildas have been in the headlines or on the back page of the tabloids in Australia, which is the ultimate benchmark for pop culture elements. The good news for us is that we (the US) are on the other side of the bracket. So if USA and Australia play, it will only happen in the final. That could be amazing. You have Sam Kerr, one of the legitimate top five players in the world. We will have a big focus on Australia. We like to take the homelands with us and make them a part of our narrative and the characters in the play.”
Based on the photos they have sent to the press, it looks like Fox nailed the spot for their studio set in front of the Park Hyatt Sydney Hotel, with the iconic Sydney Opera House as the main backdrop, as well as the Sydney Harbor Bridge and Campbells cove Neal said he first fell in love with the studio location 23 years ago when he served as executive producer of NBC’s coverage of the Sydney Olympics. He said it took more than a year to obtain all the necessary permits considering how public the site is.
“I remember thinking if we ever had a show with an outdoor location, this would be the place,” Neal said. “I felt this would be ideal to keep the tradition of having an iconic backdrop whenever possible. We have an absolutely spot on shot of the Sydney Opera House and if you shoot slightly to the left you can also see the Harbor Bridge. It’s a beautiful location.”
This will be Neal’s last assignment for Fox. His career includes producing nine Olympics, four NBA Finals and two World Series for NBC, as well as helping launch the sports cable network Univision Deportes (UDN). He was in the truck for Game 6 of the 1998 NBA Finals – Michael Jordan’s last game with the Chicago Bulls – which averaged 35.9 million viewers. This is the most-watched NBA Finals game of all time. This tournament will be Fox’s (male and female) fifth World Championship as executive producer. (Neal’s departure opens up a significant task for a football-loving media executive.)
“Maybe this sounds naïve, but I believe that international sport can contribute to a better understanding of our global nature,” said Neal. “It’s about people understanding each other and better appreciating each other’s customs and desires.”
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(Photo of USWNT’s Rose Lavelle, Alex Morgan and Megan Rapinoe during the 2019 Women’s World Cup: Maja Hitij/Getty Images)