Fox has officially announced its broadcast schedule for the World Cup (link below). I had always been afraid that the NFL and the College Football Big Ten 12 pm EST time slots for Saturday and Sunday were going to take precedent to the World Cup and my fears appear to have been justified. The main point of concern for me is that if the USA were to win the Group they'd play on Sunday, 12/4 and be sent to FS1. I understand the NFL is the biggest rating etc etc, but the World Cup happens once every four years. The second point of concern is the World Cup Final on 12/18. The match starts at 10:00 AM EST. Typically a soccer match is set for a 2 hour broadcast. What happens if this match goes into extra time and penalty kicks? Does Fox switch it over to FS1 to make sure NFL games are still broadcast over the air? Match Schedule PDF: https://mcusercontent.com/4ef9e4811...ee-ca85ba75b7e1/FIFA_World_Cup_Qatar_2022.pdf
The football games start at 1pm EST. So if it goes to extra time and penalties the match should be over before three hours is out. Then you can send the post-game to FS1.
In 2014 the rating for the World Cup final was higher than the average NFL game. Just looked it up our of curiosity.
Looks like Ian Darke will be joining Fox for the tournament Always love the World Cup so very happy to join the Fox commentary team led by John Strong in Qatar. Kind of ESPN to allow me out on loan— Ian Darke (@IanDarke) July 26, 2022
Would be cool to see him get USA/England but since he seemed to make it a point to mention that Strong is leading things, I assume we'll get Strong/Holden for all USMNT games and The Final. Happy anyway though, he's a great broadcaster.
Looks like we went with the English wannabe kind of crew. No Latino presence in the broadcast. This is the time for representation if these companies are serious about diversity.
Strong and Dellecamera are almost certainly going to be PBP guys, and last time they used Jorge Perez-Navarro and I wouldn't be surprised if they did so again
The best play by play guys are in the Latino market in the US. The difference in quality between Cantor, etc, and Darke is dramatic.
I think Darke is among the best English-language commentators we’ve had in the US (at least with a major network). He lets the game breathe and tell its own story, adding bits and pieces to help build the drama. He doesn’t fill up empty space with a jumble of useless facts or telling us where the players went to college or what clubs they play for, which is always a problem with American commentators in other sports. I generally find less is more with play by play commentators, so some of this is my personal preference.
I like Darke. I think he is the best out there. Would have loved to see Arlo White call some games but that probably won't happen. Dang! World Cup Live starts at 4 am Eastern. Guess I won't be getting much sleep during those 3 weeks.
Agree with you there. I think Darke and even Champion do a good job on that front. I like John Strong but he tends to overtalk. Arlo White as well.
Cantor is horrible, an imperious know-it-all who anticipates goals and decisions from the ref - he coaches. Darke is awesome. Strong is horrible, too, so I'll be going Spanish-language.
I suppose if you're a Spanish Speaker, but I haven't really noticed any difference when networks like FOX and ESPN have tried moving some of their Spanish speaking announcers to English games
Just as I was about ready to write how disappointed I was to not see Andres Cordero get a chance with Fox, he had a great call (helped by a “magesterial” from Ray Hudson) on Inter Miami’s tying goal. I think he’s just a solid PBP guy on both Serie A and domestic matches.
I wish Darke would be the play-by-play man for the US games instead of Strong, but that will not be the case. Strong is alright, but I am in agreement with papermache16 that he has a real tendency to overtalk.
It would be good to have a Latino American on the broadcast, totally agree. I personally enjoy Herc. He brings knowledge of the game and passion. He’s also not afraid to speak his mind, which I like and respect.
https://prosoccerwire.usatoday.com/...st-team-including-darke-pairing-with-donovan/ Fox announcers for World Cup 2022 Play-by-Play/Match Analyst John Strong and Stu Holden JP Dellacamera and Cobi Jones Derek Rae and Aly Wagner Ian Darke and Landon Donovan Jacqui Oatley and Warren Barton Studio Analysts Alexi Lalas Carli Lloyd Chad Johnson Clint Dempsey Eniola Aluko Kelly Smith Maurice Edu My opinion - I didn't care for Donovan when he did the games 5-6 years ago. Maybe he's gotten better, I dunno. But he's a sort of dry personality that doesn't really come off as personable on air. I'm not the biggest fan of JP but he's put in the time so I'm glad he's doing matches. I like Derek Rae. Chad Johnson is a big soccer fan so it's not a total stunt assignment, but it is funny to see him there. Reminds me of when Steve Nash was doing analysis for Turner when they covered soccer.
Zero latino presence. Given that the mens game in the US is heavily influenced by latin cultures, this is pretty odd.
The item that catches my eye with Fox here the studio analysts. ESPN would have this group loaded with ex-players or managers from major World Cup contenders. People like Ballack, Solari, Roberto Martinez, Klinsmann, and Van Nistelrooy. But Fox isn't doing that approach, with a heavy emphasis instead on association with the US national team. Even the two non-Americans in the group both played for England. We'll see how this goes. Was this what Fox did in 2018? I didn't watch much coverage that year, though I remember Fox making staff layoffs (including Donovan) before the World Cup when the team failed to qualify. IIRC, Fox also had most of its commentary teams based in Los Angeles.
Yeah. Bit of a miss… Personally, I really enjoy Herc. He brings a good balance of passion and player perspective.
I seem to recall a time when Derek Rae called a game in a recognizably human accent instead of the uncanny instrument he's working with now. Ah, memories!
Same. He likes to stir the pot and he has the insiders perspective as well as the US-Mex perspective. He’s deep in the know. Futbol Americas is highly entertaining. I’d enjoy a show with Herc, Seb, Dempsey, Donovan, Lalas, and Mo Edu…that would be a fun one.
There would be so much entertaining story-telling with those hosts, it would be awesome. Some are not fond of Donovan’s on-camera persona. Personally, I think he’s fantastic. I appreciate his understated and non-bombastic approach. Mo Edu is incredibly articulate and insightful too.
I wish FOX would simply provide a feed for each match with none of their, or anybody else's, commentators. For me anything beyond who is currently on the ball and, if there is time, who is defending. Everything else pretty much just detracts from the match. The typical match with US commentators is almost all detraction with very little of what is actually happening. But FOX does not care about the quality of the broadcast they just care if they make money.