Fox Sports’ Twitter on Saturday had their best day ever in terms of views thanks to Croatia-Russia highlightsGETTY IMAGES
Fox averaged 6.32 million viewers for Croatia’s win over Russia on Saturday afternoon, marking the best FIFA World Cup quarterfinal match on U.S. TV (English or Spanish) since ’90 -- including U.S. matches. Croatia-Russia, which went to penalty kicks, is up 20% from 5.26 million viewers for the comparable Netherlands-Costa Rica quarterfinal four years ago on ESPN, which aired later in the afternoon on the Saturday of July 4 weekend. Croatia-Russia also is up 28% from 4.94 million viewers for Spain-Paraguay in ’10. Earlier on Saturday, Fox drew 4.76 million viewers for England’s win over Sweden, up 6% from Argentina-Belgium four years ago (4.49 million viewers). Fox Sports’ Twitter accounts on Saturday also had their best day ever in terms of views, driven by highlights from Croatia-Russia (Austin Karp, Assistant Managing Editor).
MAKING THE BEST OF IT: In L.A., Stephen Battaglio wrote while the TV viewership comparisons to Brazil four years ago on ESPN and Univision "aren't pretty," Fox and Telemundo feel they are "doing better than expected, considering the circumstances" of no USMNT and early morning TV windows during the group stage for the U.S. audience. Despite the obstacles, Telemundo Deportes President Ray Warren said that the Comcast-owned Spanish-language net is "delivering the audience levels promised to advertisers." Telemundo "expects to take in" $250M in ad sales for the '18 World Cup. Fox Sports Exec VP/Research, League Operations & Strategy Mike Mulvihill said, "The good news is that as we've gone deeper into the tournament, those early-morning windows that we had in the first round have gone away and that's less of a challenge." Meanwhile, Battaglio wrote a "major payoff potentially arrives" in '26, when the World Cup comes to North America. Warren said that this year's World Cup "already is giving Telemundo momentum in its push to become the leading network for Spanish-speaking U.S. viewers after decades of being an also-ran to Univision." Warren: "We paid a lot of money for the rights because we knew what it could do for Telemundo. The real plan is to transfer hearts and minds of viewers in the Spanish-language space to Telemundo" (L.A. TIMES, 7/7).
IMPROVING AS THEY GO: THE ATHLETIC's Richard Deitsch writes the "strength" of the World Cup's production has been Fox' game-calling crew, led by a "quality top pairing in John Strong and Stu Holden." Broadcasters Derek Rae and Aly Wagner also "deserve the praise they have received for meshing together at the highest level." The studio "remains a mixed bag and inferior to ESPN's previous efforts." Fox addressed the "abject mess that was 'World Cup Tonight'" by bringing in host Kate Abdo and "raising the seriousness of the conversation." The absence of any "extended conversation on the underbelly of FIFA and Russia remains frustrating" (THEATHLETIC.com, 7/9).
POWER MOVE: In N.Y., Kosman & Steigrad note Telemundo, which "once trailed Univision in the ratings game by a wide margin," won the adults 18-49 demo in primetime for the week of June 18-24. At the same time, Telemundo is "scoring record daytime ratings thanks to the World Cup." Meanwhile, things are "not getting any easier" for Univision, which was outbid for Spanish-language rights to the '18, '22 and '26 World Cups. Sources said that the five private equity owners which own the net are "now faced with a brutal carriage dispute and a forecast that revenue next year will decline" 4% -- its "largest downturn ever." The projected decline comes after Univision was "flat this year." The "pressure to increase revenue is likely one reason for the carriage-fee standoff with Dish." It "dropped Univision on June 30 when it couldn't come to an agreement on fees" (N.Y. POST, 7/9).
