Fox’s World Cup closing attracts 16.8 million viewers, units report

Fox and Telemundo agreed in 2011 to pay about $1 billion for the U.S. tv rights to the 2018 and 2022 World Cups. The broadcasters had been hoping to attract huge audiences so they might recoup their prices with promoting income. 

Throughout the monthlong event, Fox confronted the problem of airing matches that overlapped with faculty and professional soccer, a uncommon battle for an occasion that usually takes place in the summertime. Additional time and penalty kicks made the ultimate match so lengthy that Fox abruptly lower off Argentina’s trophy ceremony as a way to change its flagship feed to the Nationwide Soccer League.

As well as, a number of the group stage matches firstly of the event began as early as 5 a.m. on the East Coast, hurting viewership. 

However Fox additionally benefited from a powerful exhibiting from the U.S. group, which had didn’t qualify for the event 4 years in the past. Previous to the ultimate, the U.S. match towards England was the most-watched males’s soccer sport in US historical past.

—Bloomberg Information with contributions from Advert Age