Women’s World Cup Gets Most Live TV Coverage Ever as Fox Sports Capitalizes on U.S. Team’s Quest for Three-Peat Victory

In a milestone media moment for women’s sports, Fox Sports is about to deliver the most expansive coverage of a FIFA Women’s World Cup tournament in history – an investment driven by the success of the U.S. national team and its pursuit of an unprecedented third consecutive victory.

From July 20 through Aug. 20, cabler Fox Sports 1 (FS1) and the Fox broadcast network will serve up more than 190 hours of live soccer programming from the tournament staged in Australia and New Zealand. The roster includes 64 matches, about half of which will air on Fox, the broadest platform for the games and for sponsors. All matches will stream live via the FS1 app. The quarterfinals, semifinals, third-place match and the big finish will all air live on Fox.

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Fox Sports is also investing in pre- and post-game shows, halftime reports and other shoulder programming around the games in order to make the most of the pricey World Cup rights it acquired starting with the 2015 Women’s World Cup tourney. Established stars on the U.S. Women’s National Team (USWNT) such as Megan Rapinoe, Alex Morgan, Alyssa Thompson, Rose Lavelle and Ashley Sanchez will give Fox Sports producers plenty of material to work with in telling the story of the 2023 team.

Soccer great Carli Lloyd, who served as co-captain of the victorious USWNT team at the 2019 Women’s World Cup, will serve as a studio analyst for Fox Sports. Having retired from soccer just two years ago, Lloyd is eager to be on air to help viewers understand what players and coaches are feeling as they put everything on the pitch for a world championship.

“It’s just such a huge moment in time for women’s sports right now,” Lloyd tells Variety. “It’s no longer ‘Oh, we’re going to support this women’s team because it’s the fun thing to do.’ No, people are doing it because it’s actually a great investment. Brands and companies are seeing that more and more. The Women’s World Cup popularity has grown, around the world women’s soccer is doing well. It’s getting more resources and more support.”

Lloyd also points to the positive impact of new teams joining the U.S.’s National Women’s Soccer League, notably Los Angeles’ Angel City and the San Diego Wave.

“Those two franchises coming in have really elevated the NWSL and pushed other teams to be better,” says Lloyd, who played for the league’s Western New York Flash, the Houston Dash and Sky Blue during her career. “They’re setting attendance records and sellign out stadiums. They’re really putting a lot of dollars and resources into the league. That is allowing the league to grow faster.”

Lloyd began her TV work as an analyst and commentator for Fox Sports in April 2022 and made her World Cup debut covering select games for the men’s tournament held last year in Qatar.

David Neal, executive producer of Women’s World Cup and VP of production for Fox Sports, credits the dominance of the U.S. Women’s National Team (USWNT) for boosting the popularity of the sport overall in the U.S. in a significant way. Part of the reason Fox Sports landed World Cup rights was because of its commitment to put the quadrennial women’s tournament on a par with the men’s World Cup, which has traditionally ranked as one of the most-watched global TV events.

“We give more emphasis to the Women’s World Cup because the [U.S.] women’s team is more popular,” Neal tells Variety. “They are going in as the two-time defending champions.”

Neal credits the top stars of the USWNT and the U.S.’s National Women’s Soccer League for being savvy in how they promote themselves and the sport. It comes in sharp contrast to the culture of athletes and clubs in the world of soccer outside the U.S., where broadcasters often struggle to get lively interviews with players on camera, Neal says.

After Fox Sports cut a deal with FIFA for World Cup rights in 2011, the division’s producers made a presentation to members of the USWNT in Salt Lake City. Neal and his team promised to produce the kind of image-burnishing coverage that NBCUniversal does about athletes during the Olympics. Neal credited Lloyd and the now-retired Abby Wambach for helping the set the tone and establish guardrails for Fox Sports’ lifestyle and biography coverage related to Women’s World Cup.

“We told them we wanted to portray them as a team of rock-star athletes. They gave us access and the ability to bring their stories to life,” Neal says.

Lloyd never expected to segue into the booth after her retirement from soccer. But Neal thought she would be a natural after getting to know her as a player. Neal called Lloyd shortly after the 2019 Women’s World Cup to make a pre-emptive offer.

“I wasn’t even entertaining the idea,” Lloyd says. “It’s a tough thing to do. I’ve played with these players and the head coach. I was part of that for so long. But when the opportunity presented itself, I took the leap. I knew it was going to be nerve-wracking and a bit uncomfortable.”

Lloyd feels she can add context to the game play for viewers that will enhance their appreciation of the sport and the skill of the athletes on the field.

“Viewers want to hear the perspective of what it’s like to be a player. I can tap into what a player is thinking, what a coach is thinking, what would be my message to a team in this particular situation,” Lloyd says. “It’s not that much different than what I did as player. I’m preparing to be professional and trying to be the best version of myself. I enjoy talking about the game of soccer.”

The tournament begins July 20 with a spotlight on the host nations. New Zealand plays Norway in a match set to air at 3 a.m. ET. Australia takes on Ireland at 6 a.m. ET. The USWNT plays its first match July 21 against Vietnam. That game is set to air live at 9 p.m. ET/6 a.m. PT.

The 14-hour time difference between Australia and New York makes it challenging to schedule games for optimal viewing times in the U.S. Neal notes that the 16-hour difference between New Zealand and New York actually helped FIFA strategically schedule matches at convenient viewing times in North America. “In New Zealand, 1 p.m. is 9 p.m. New York time,” Neal observes.

Working on an event that has such a massive global footprint (albeit Fox Sports only serves the U.S. market) is extremely gratifying for Lloyd. The growth of women’s professional soccer in the U.S. and other markets opens up previously unavailable career paths in sports for girls who impress on the pitch.

“The World Cup gives teams like Haiti and Zambia the chance to play and have the opportunity to inspire so many girls around the world,” Lloyd says. “It’s only going to get better.”

(Pictured: Fox Sports Women’s World Cup studio hosts Rob Stone, Ariane Hingst, Carli Lloyd and Alexi Lalas)

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