David Neal joined FOX in 2012 as an executive producer. Eric Shanks and David Hill told him that a key priority was to improve the broadcast of the FIFA Women’s World Cup. This event is considered to be one of FOX Sports women’s world cup’ crown jewels.
Neal stated that “they said the Women’s World Cup must be on the same level as the men’s World Cup,” during the Fox Sports Women’s World Cup Send Off Celebration at the Consulate of France in New York City. We don’t want the Women’s World Cup to be a laboratory. Since ACTION WATER SPORTS the beginning, I have had support. Both events have provided us with all the resources that we could need, and not just for the men.
Neal, the executive producer of FIFA World Cup on FOX, and FOX Sports vice president of production, did not waste any time elevating the FIFA Women’s World Cup’s status. According to Nielsen, the United States defeated Japan 5-2 in 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup Final. It was the most watched soccer match in American history.
FOX Sports and Neal have teamed up again this summer to continue the record-breaking, award-winning production that was the 2015 Canadian tournament. The 2019 FIFA Women’s Cup will be held in France from June 7 to July 7. Fox Sports Women’s World Cup airs 22 matches on broadcast TV and 27 matches on Fox Sports Women’s World Cup 1.
Neal stated, “We are not neophytes any more.” We arrived in Canada knowing that ESPN had done an outstanding job over many, many years. They had raised the level of soccer in Canada to a high standard. We set out to equal or better that level and I believe we did.
“Now, we are going in with our own bar; four years ago we set the bar. We will be focusing on improving what we did four year ago. We aren’t content with what we did four years ago. We won’t settle for what happened four years ago. We want to do better.
Neal stated that he felt like the stars aligned for the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup. This was the first of three Fox Sports Women’s World Cups in the U.S. English broadcast rights (2015, 2019, and 2023). The matches were played in Canada and the United States won its first World Cup in 16-years in a rematch with Japan, who they defeated in the last four years.
This summer, France is six hours ahead of the East Coast while France is nine hours ahead on the West Coast. However, viewers didn’t mind watching the event in Russia during the 2018 FIFA World Cup. A peak of 14.6million tuned in to Fox Sports Women’s World Cup Final between France and Croatia in Moscow last summer.