Wagner made history by becoming the first woman to call a World Cup game on an American broadcastALY WAGNER
Fox' coverage of the World Cup so far has been a "mixed bag," but since some "opening-night stumbles, Fox has righted the ship," according to Miles Surrey of THE RINGER. The broadcast team of Derek Rae and Aly Wagner "weren't sent to Russia to cover any of the games in person," but the duo has "provided the tournament's best commentary." Wagner made history by "becoming the first woman to call a World Cup game on an American broadcast, and has developed an easy rapport with Rae," who is a "capable play-play guy." Meanwhile, what the broadcast team of Jorge Perez-Navarro and Mariano Trujillo "lacked in traditional analysis they make up for in purely jubilant and entertaining calls." There is a "fair bit of homerism for the Latin teams" from them, but with so many games and broadcasting teams for the group stage, Perez-Navarro and Trujillo are a "dynamic, refreshing change of pace." Perez-Navarro and Trujillio also are among the Fox teams being used as "remote commentators" from Fox' L.A. studio. The decision to keep so many announcers at home gave the net "plenty of bad PR ahead of the tournament," but it "hasn’t had a noticeable effect on their coverage." As for Fox' studio analysts, their "biggest problem so far is their inability to articulate the nuances of the game." Without the necessary "balance between ruminative breakdowns of the players’ performances and headline-grabbing hot takes, Fox Soccer’s studio coverage is best left on mute in the hour that precedes kickoff." (THERINGER.com, 6/20).
THE DARKER SIDE: USA TODAY's Martin Rogers notes Fox' Alexi Lalas was "confronted by an 'aggressive' and 'angry' fan last weekend in Moscow," where he is part of the net's World Cup studio coverage. A source said that Lalas was left "fearing for his safety following the incident near his hotel but was unharmed." The incident has "not interrupted his work" (USA TODAY, 6/20). Meanwhile, YAHOO SPORTS' Ryan Young noted Colombian reporter Julieth Gonzalez Theran late last week was "reporting on the World Cup for Deutsche Welle, a German news station," when a man interrupted a live shot and "grabbed Gonzalez Theran and her breast, kissed her on the cheek, and quickly took off" (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 6/19).
HARRY, STYLES: England's 2-1 win on Monday against Tunisia was the "most-watched" TV program in the U.K. so far this year. An average audience of 13.7 million watched the team's opening match. Ratings peaked at 18.3 million "during the closing minutes," when Harry Kane scored the game-winning goal in stoppage time. That figures comprises 69% of all U.K. TV viewers (PA, 6/19).
