How The 2023 Women’s World Cup Drew Record Audiences In U.S. Markets Despite Challenges
19.08.2023 - 22:57
/ deadline.com
England and Spain will make history Sunday when they go head-to-head in the 2023 Women’s World Cup final, with both teams making their first championship appearances.
No matter who prevails, it’ll be one for the history books. Unfortunately, soccer fans in the U.S. will have to peel themselves out of bed in the wee hours of the morning, since the match is taking place at 6am E.T./3 a.m. PT.
The early morning (or even middle of the night) kickoffs have been one of the bigger challenges that put U.S. markets at a bit of a disadvantage when it came to broadcasting the 2023 Women’s World Cup. That and the fact that the USA was unexpectedly eliminated in their round of 16 match against Sweden after entering the tournament favored to win their third consecutive title.
Lucky for Fox, which owns the U.S. English-language broadcasting rights, the country’s growing interest in soccer and, more generally, in women’s sports (both of which have been heavily influenced by the USWNT’s previous wins) helped buoy the tournament.
“What’s been proven in this World Cup is that the Women’s World Cup really is here to stay as a major event,” Michael Mulvihill, Fox’s president of insights and analytics, told Deadline, calling the challenging time zones “just a little bit of a speed bump.”
“I don’t think that it affects the longer term popularity,” Mulvihill added.
Due to the vastly different time zones, Fox worked closely with FIFA to ensure that a majority of the USA’s matches would air during primetime on the east coast to maximize viewership.
The USA played two of its three Group E matches in primetime and scored record audiences in the process. The USA’s 1-1 draw with the Netherlands, which was their second group stage match played in