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Despite steep viewership drops for Fox Sports’ U.S. coverage of the tournament, interest is still high in future FIFA Women’s World Cups.
English-language broadcasts of the Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand averaged 669,000 viewers across Fox and FS1, down 60% from 2019 in France (1.66 million) and the smallest audience for the event since 2007 in China.
But the U.S. remains among several nations vying for hosting duties of the 2027 Women’s World Cup, along with Brazil, South Africa, and a potential joint bid from Belgium, the Netherlands, and Germany. Mexico is interested in co-hosting with the U.S., as it will for the 2026 men’s edition.
The 2023 event broke all kinds of records, with a total attendance just shy of 2 million fans. The Spain-England final broke viewership records in those nations, and co-host Australia’s semifinal defeat was the most-watched TV program on record in the country.
Fox actually scored its most-watched group-stage for games involving the USWNT, but the Americans’ surprising exit in the first round of the knockout stage left Fox without its home team for the remainder of the tournament.
Formal bids for the 2027 Women’s World Cup are due in December, and FIFA would like to pick a host by May 2024.
Once FIFA determines a host country for 2027, it will go to market with the tournament’s media rights — which would no doubt be more valuable to U.S. networks if the event is on home soil.
