Soccer Anyone?

  • July 20, 2001
With the 2002 World Cup about 10 months away, there's still no English-language U.S. broadcaster lined up. While the rest of the world goes crazy for "futbol," soccer still isn't considered close to the big three (baseball, football, basketball) when it comes to popularity in the United States, the success of the 1999 Women's World Cup notwithstanding. German media company Kirch bought the U.S. television and radio rights to the 2002 and 2006 World Cups from FIFA, the sport's governing body, in May. The only parties clearly interested in striking a deal with Kirch are Disney brethren ABC and ESPN, which aired the 1994 and 1998 World Cups. A problem for Kirch is that U.S. rights aren't worth a lot because most games start at 2:30 a.m., 5 a.m. and 7:30 a.m. EDT, with the final at 7 a.m. EDT on June 30. All games will be shown live, 56 on Univision (which reaches about 70 percent of U.S. TV homes) and eight on a new network it's launching in January, with many being replayed in prime time to allow for a greater audience. The 1998 World Cup coverage on ABC, ESPN, ESPN2 and Univision averaged, combined, about a 4.4 national household rating. The final between France and Brazil drew the equivalent of about a 7.4 on ABC and Univision together. The numbers were even better in 1994, when the World Cup was played in the United States. - Adam Bernard
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