The Women’s World Cup is back: Here’s what to expect from FOX coverage

We are at the time of the rise of soccer in the United States. Yeah, yeah, I know you heard this years ago, dating a fellow Brazilian named Edson Arantes do Nascimento It was unveiled at Club 21 in New York in June 1975.

But hear me out.

This month, Lionel Messi, football’s god of the moment, joined Inter Miami of the MLS. He is a huge signing who will change, if nothing else, the level of discussion of soccer in the United States. The National Women’s Soccer League plans to expand to 14 teams in 2024 and then add two more teams by 2026. Next year, the United States will host the Copa América, CONMEBOL’s four-way soccer tournament, featuring world powerhouses like Argentina’s Messi and Brazil’s, as well as six teams from CONCACAF North America (which includes the USA’s qualifying national teams). Then comes the final moment – 16 cities will jointly host the 2026 World Cup in three North American countries: Canada, Mexico and the United States.

The Women’s World Cup, which starts this week, is an extension of this bounty of football, and in terms of payload, top-level football will immerse you as a spectator over the next four weeks (especially if you’re willing to watch at all hours of the evening). Thursday through August 20, Fox Sports will broadcast all 64 matches of the Women’s World Cup live. There are 29 matches on Fox – the most Women’s World Cup matches ever on a US English-language broadcast network – while 35 will be broadcast on FS1. The quarter-finals, semi-finals, third-place match, and final will all be broadcast on Fox. Every match will be broadcast live on the Fox Sports app, and the tournament will be broadcast in 4K.

Telemundo has the Spanish language rights to the event (as well as the 2024 Olympic Games and the 2026 Men’s World Cup) and you’ll find information on Telemundo’s coverage hereAnd here And herewhich includes 33 matches on Telemundo—the most women’s World Cup matches ever on any broadcast network in American television history—31 on Universo, and every match broadcast live on Peacock.

The biggest challenge for US broadcasters at the Women’s World Cup is the time difference, given that the tournament is held in Australia and New Zealand. Sydney is 14 hours ahead of Eastern Time. New Zealand has one time zone, 16 hours ahead of Eastern Time. The final, which is expected to include the United States, will be broadcast at 6 AM ET on August 20. The first Semi-Final will air at 4 AM ET on August 15 while the second Semi-Final will air on August 16 at 6 AM ET.

The United States’ win over the Netherlands four years ago in France averaged 16.9 million viewers on Fox and Telemundo, including 15.57 million on Fox. United State Beating Japan in the Women’s World Cup final In 2015 (which took place in time-friendly Canada) it averaged 25.4 million viewers. Obviously, that would be hard to replicate given the time period.

“It’s far from an optimal time slot, but at the same time, you’re hoping to build momentum as you move forward,” said David Neil, executive producer of Fox’s World Cup coverage and vice president of production. “Hopefully, the momentum and excitement of the USA trying to do what no team has ever done, winning three World Cups in a row, plus the patriotic nature of wrapping yourself in the flag and cheering for Team USA, will give us enough audience.”

The schedule offers Fox a great start in the group stage. The Americans’ opening game against Vietnam will air Friday at 9 p.m. ET on Fox. The second American game is a replay of the World Cup Final from four years ago and will air at 9 p.m. ET on Wednesday, July 26. The final group stage match for the United States vs. Portugal, which will air at 3 AM ET on Tuesday, August 1.

If, as expected, the Americans win their group, their first game of the knockout stage will be well timed, too, airing at 10 p.m. ET on Saturday, August 5. If they win, their quarterfinal match will air at 9pm ET on Thursday, August 10th.

“The first two games are about as close to a group stage match as you can get and in a great amount of time,” said Neil. “What we do in every one of these tournaments is try to create viewing habits. So we have these two staged games for US women and one that you can really promote when you play against Holland. We hope we generate enough interest. We know the challenges people face waking up in the off hours of the night. But if American women capture people’s imaginations, we think that pays off for us.”

JP Dellacamera — who will call all of the American Games, as well as Thursday’s Opening Game and Finals, with partner Aly Wagner — says he’s not worried about viewership.

“We’re a soccer nation, and we’ve been a soccer nation for years,” said Dellacamera. “The pubs will open early; they’ll close late. People will go partying. I’m not worried about viewership. If the final, for argument’s sake, is 3 a.m. and the USA is playing, I’ll take a chance that the rating is very good.”

While Fox can’t control the site, it can control who calls the tournament between game coverage and studio programming. There will be three announced teams on site in Australia and New Zealand – the main team of Dellacamera and Wagner and the team of Jacqui Oatley and Lori Lindsey and John Strong and Kyndra de St. Louis. Aubin. The teams of Kate Scott, Danielle Slaton, Jane Hildreth, and Warren Barton will be calling the games from Fox’s Los Angeles headquarters. You can watch the entire stream below, Here’s the group broadcast assignments.

It was Fox Studios’ show for the Men’s World Cup in Qatar slam harshly – And it’s worth it. Those who had access to other national broadcasters, such as TSN in Canada, or remember when ESPN picked up its picture as World Cup broadcaster, witnessed deep discussions about non-American teams during studio shows and learned about tactics. These networks have not been asked to discuss human rights issues, whether in Qatar or anywhere else. By comparison, Fox’s analysis of the Women’s World Cup was much better for viewers, in my opinion. Neil said he thinks Carli Lloyd, who will play a major role on this coverage as lead studio analyst, will be great for viewers.

“The first three times I called her or people in NFL about whether she was interested in broadcasting when she retired, we kind of got the Heisman Trophy,” Neal said. It was, ‘Stay away, I’m not interested in that. Once she finally decided to give it a try, I think she loved trying it a lot. She’s going to be a leading voice on our coverage from start to finish, and I think it’s a pretty obvious upgrade.”

Viewers will also have the option to check out “World Cup Now” pre- and post-match Twitter presentations, including commentary and analysis from hosts Leslie Osborne, Jimmy Conrad and Melissa Ortiz along with on-site announcers.

Since being named executive producer of Fox’s World Cup coverage in 2012, Neil has always been consistent when it comes to the matter of keeping content discussed in the field.

“We’re going to do what we do best, which is definitely the tactics, the matches, the results,” Neill said. But at the same time, we do not have any restrictions on topics. American women have been at the center of the debate over equal pay, and that makes it so relevant for our viewers. We do not have an iron-clad mandate that will not be discussed. But we think the majority of viewers will be watching to see the results on the field of play. In Qatar, they voted with their remote controls, and we got huge numbers as we focused on the field of play.”

Fox traditionally highlights a team outside the United States — that pick, not surprisingly, is Mexico for the men’s World Cup — and Neil said there will be an extra focus during Fox’s coverage on the Australian women’s team.

“The particular team of interest is the host team, Australia,” said Neil. “I’ve always thought whether it’s the Olympics or the World Cup, you can’t overestimate the power of home advantage, particularly in Australia, which has a fantastic craze for sport. The Matildas have been in the headlines or the back page of Australia’s popular press, and they’re the ultimate measuring tool for pop culture. The good news for us is that we (the US) are on the other side of the arc. So if the US and Australia play, the only time that happens will be the final. That could be amazing. They have Sam Kerr, one of the top five legit players. Yen in the world. We’re going to focus a lot on Australia. We like to take our home countries and make them part of our storytelling and our characters in the play.”

Based on the photos they sent to the press, it appears that Fox has located its studio set, outside the Park Hyatt Sydney hotel, with the famous Sydney Opera House as the main backdrop along with the Sydney Harbor Bridge and Campbell’s Cove. Neil said he first fell in love with the studio location 23 years ago when he was serving as executive producer for NBC’s coverage of the Sydney Olympics. He said it took more than a year to get all the necessary permits given the extent of the public at the site.

“I remember thinking if we had a show about an outdoor location, this would be the place,” said Neil. “I felt like this would be perfect for us to keep our tradition of having iconic wallpapers whenever possible. We have an absolute cash shot of the Sydney Opera House, and if you shoot a little to the left you also get the Harbor Bridge. It’s a beautiful location.”

This will be Neil’s last assignment for Fox. His career includes producing nine Olympic Games, four NBA Finals and two World Series for NBC, and helping launch the Univision Deportes (UDN) sports cable network. He was in the truck for Game 6 of the 1998 NBA Finals – Michael Jordan’s final 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 his fifth World Cup for FOX (Men’s and Women’s) as Executive Producer. (Neil’s departure opens up an important job for a football-loving media director.)

“Maybe this sounds naive, but I think international sport can contribute to a better understanding of our global nature,” Neil said. “They are people who understand each other and appreciate each other’s habits and desires in a better way.”

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(Photo by USWNT’s Rose Lavelle, Alex Morgan and Megan Rapinoe during the 2019 Women’s World Cup: Maja Hitij / Getty Images)