The '16 Copa America Centenario begins on Friday, and the 16-team tournament will play 31 games in 10 U.S. cities, with Fox showing them "all live on one of four networks," according to Kevin Baxter of the L.A. TIMES. FS1 Exec Producer David Neal, who oversaw Fox' Women's World Cup broadcasts last year, "wouldn't say what his network is spending on Copa America." Neal: "The four weeks coming up, for soccer (coverage) in the United States, you could argue that it's at an unprecedented level." Baxter noted Neal for Copa America will be "relying on a crew of about 200." Fox, whose coverage will be anchored in L.A. by Rob Stone, will "have at least four game-commentary teams, two that will travel and two that will call games off a monitor" in L.A. Stone will "head a group of studio analysts that will include former U.S. national team players Alexi Lalas and Eric Wynalda." Swiss-based Home Broadcast Services (HBS), the official FIFA broadcaster, will "provide the images from the tournament's 10 venues to Fox and Univision." Fox' ratings will "no longer be tied to the U.S. team's success against mostly unknown players," as the the Copa America field "includes a wealth of recognized stars." Stone: "You say Brazil and Argentina, you already have people's attention whether they're a soccer fan or not." Meanwhile, the Univision Deportes Network will also broadcast every game live, and UDN President Juan Carlos Rodriguez predicts the tournament "will draw a record audience for Spanish-language television in the U.S." Rodriguez: "We believe that we are going to have 20% higher ratings than during the World Cup -- just because of prime time and the teams that are relevant for us. It's Mexico, it's the U.S. But it's also Brazil with its stars, Argentina with its stars, Uruguay with its stars" (L.A. TIMES, 5/31).
IN THE BOOTH: SI.com's Richard Deitsch noted FS1's Aly Wagner and Univision soccer broadcaster Fernando Fiore are two of the net's studio analysts for the tournament. Neal said Wagner "campaigned for the job." Neal: "She essentially said to me, 'I love the fact that Alexi Lalas was on the Women's World Cup. I should be considered to be on the men's event.' She knows tactics and has given herself a crash course on the players and tactics for this tournament. A [woman] who is put in the position of analyzing a men's sport is always going to be held to an unfair standard. But she is great every way." Meanwhile, Fiore will "host nine special editions of Copa Tonight, an hour-long tournament-themed news and commentary program airing after selected matches." Viewers can look for Fiore to "come off much different than a traditional U.S. host." He will be "walking around his studio and doing different kinds of highlight packages" (SI.com, 6/1).
