During the 2018 FIFA Men’s World Cup, FOX Sports ventured into new territory with their coverage and live broadcasts on Twitter. In 2019, they’re taking that same model to France.
The broadcaster will be streaming FIFA Women’s World Cup Now live from Paris for the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup, just as they did in Russia last summer, along with their commitment to publish every goal scored on Twitter as they happen.
The expansion comes as no surprise, looking at the results and conversation Twitter coverage produced last summer. While TV ratings were down with the U.S. Men’s National Team missing out on the competition, the real buzz was online. Fans garnered 115 billion impressions on FOX’s tweets during the competition, while FOX’s FIFA World Cup Now brought in more than seven million views for its 27 shows.
FOX doesn’t seem content to just replicate it’s 2018 success on the platform, though. While the live show from Red Square in Moscow sought to be somewhat of an extension of what audiences are used to seeing on TV, the 2019 coverage will go further to marry the traditional television-style coverage with new digital tools. FOX has indicated its Twitter coverage will include weekly check-ins with their TV personalities, as well as World Cup-specific Twitter moments and other ways to engage with fans on social.
The marquee summer soccer moment also presents an opportunity not afforded to the broadcaster in 2018 – an American team. Better yet, a favorite to win. The Women’s National Team goes into the year as the top-ranked team and Vegas’ favorite to take home the trophy again, and FOX is champing at the bit to leverage their success. Throughout the SheBelieves Cup in February and March, which will feature the U.S., Japan, Brazil and England, FOX and Twitter will be featuring game highlights and Twitter Moments for games.
With the benefit of an audience who knows what to expect, a year of learnings and a highly marketable team that can win, it will be interesting to see this partnership really flexes its muscles in 2019.
Categories: Alex Morgan, Broadcast, Digital Content, FIFA, Fox, Technology