FIFA World Cup on ABC is the branding used for presentations of the FIFA World Cup produced by the American Broadcasting Company television network in the United States. ABC first broadcast World Cup matches in 1970, when they aired week-old filmed highlights shown on ABC's Wide World of Sports. ABC next broadcast the 1982 FIFA World Cup Final. Beginning in 1994, ABC was the official American network broadcaster of the World Cup up through 2014. ABC also broadcast the FIFA Women's World Cup in 1999 and 2003; Fox took over the American World Cup TV broadcasts in 2011, which took effect in 2015.[1]
In 1970, it was ABC's turn to broadcast the World Cup final. While ABC aired the contest between Italy and Brazil in color unlike what NBC did in 1966, ABC decided to wait until Christmas, six months after Brazil won, to show it as part of an episode of Wide World of Sports.[2][3]
The 1994 American coverage had many firsts: The first with all of the matches televised, the first with no commercial interruptions during live action, and the first to feature an on-screen score & time box.
Unlike in 1998, when ESPN and ABC paid $20 million for the broadcast rights to the World Cup, the English-language rights for the 2002 and 2006 editions were sold instead to Major League Soccer for $40–50 million. Through an agreement with the Walt Disney Company, ESPN and ABC would air both tournaments at no cost, while MLS would cover production costs and sell advertisements via its newly created marketing arm, Soccer United Marketing.[20]
In 2002, 59 matches were broadcast live, along with 5 rebroadcasts on ABC,[21] with coverage from Japan and South Korea carried live in the American late night graveyard slot.
The 2006 coverage from Germany was fully live as well. Dave O'Brien[28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35] joined Marcelo Balboa on the lead broadcast team for the 2006 FIFA World Cup coverage on ESPN and ABC Sports, despite having no experience calling soccer matches prior to that year. Because The Walt Disney Company, owner of both television outlets, retained control over on-air talent, the appointment of O'Brien as the main play-by-play voice was made over the objections of Soccer United Marketing, who wanted JP Dellacamera to continue in that role. Disney stated that their broadcast strategy was intended, in voice and style, to target the vast majority of Americans who do not follow the sport on a regular basis. Mispronunciation and incorrect addressing of names, misuse of soccer terminology, and lack of insight into tactics and history plagued the telecasts, resulting in heavy criticism from English-speaking soccer fans, many of whom ended up watching the games on Univision instead.[36]
The total number of Americans watching the final of the 2006 World Cup on ABC and Univision reached 16.9 million (for comparison, 2006 World Series games on Fox attracted an average of 15.8 million viewers).[37]
The 2014 coverage was available on mobile devices and tablets via the WatchESPN application, as well as on Xbox 360 and Xbox Onevideo game consoles, live and on-demand, via the ESPN on Xbox Live application.
^writer, HOWARD FENDRICH, Associated Press. "MLS key to World Cup TV deal". New Bedford Standard-Times. Retrieved October 25, 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)