“This is a worldwide event that should command your attention. There’s going to be a moment this summer when the world is going to focus on these athletes from all over the country, and at the red-hot center of that is the U.S. team,” said Gottlieb.
The world is watching
Fox Sports has the exclusive English-language rights to the 2023 World Cup, kicking off July 20 from Australia and New Zealand. The company will present all 64 matches on Fox and FS1, with every match streaming on the Fox Sports app.
No women’s team has ever captured three straight titles, as the U.S. will try to do this year. However, though the team has established itself as an international powerhouse, the rest of the world has caught up. The USWNT took the bronze in the last Olympic games, with rival Canada securing the gold medal.
“The rest of the world has been catching up in the last four years,” said Gottlieb. “The rest of the world has really ramped up, and this is going to be a really special tournament. It’s going to be defining for a generation of athletes around the world.”
Fox Sports began broadcasting the Women’s World Cup in 2015, and women’s soccer has proved to be a ratings juggernaut for the network.
“We made a very conscious decision that we saw this as a crown jewel event that maybe hadn’t received the commitment, resources and attention in the past that we envisioned it should have,” said Gottlieb.
The 2019 final averaged 16.9 million viewers across Fox and Telemundo—15.57 million on Fox alone. The 2015 final against Japan, broadcast in primetime, drew 24.5 million average viewers.
For Fox and Gottlieb, there’s “passion and pride” around Team USA and the growth of women’s sports.
“We look back to 2015 where we put a stake in the ground and said, ‘This is much bigger than what it’s been before, and it deserves a much bigger platform,’” Gottlieb continued.
