Fox outbids ESPN for World Cup in 2018 and 2022
By Joshua Albarran - Friday, October 21, 2011

Linda Cohn announced on SportsCenter that ESPN had lost the World Cup to Fox starting in 2015.

SportsCenter anchor Linda Cohn said that “The FIFA World Cup in 2018 and 2022 will be televised by Fox”, it was announced during a live edition of the 9am SportsCenter on Friday that Fox Sports (a division of the Fox Broadcasting Company and owned by News Corporation) had outbid ESPN (owned by The Walt Disney Company, which also owns ABC) and NBC (a division of NBCUniversal Media, LLC owned by Comcast and General Electric) for English rights to televised the 2018 and 2022 World Cup, Women’s World Cup in 2015 and 2019 and other FIFA events, Telemundo (also owned by NBCUniversal) had also outbid its rival competitor Univision for Spanish rights to televised FIFA events from 2015 to 2022.

Fox Sports will provide coverage of all FIFA events on the Fox television network, FX, Fox Soccer, Fox Soccer Plus, FSN and Fox Deportes starting in 2015 while Telemundo will provide coverage on the Telemundo broadcast network and mun2.

Fox has broadcast the UEFA Champions League final since 2010 and has shown some matches from Barclays Premiere League on Sundays during the NFL season since 2011 when there’s no doubleheader and will broadcast the “game before the game” during Super Bowl Sunday on February 5, 2012 at 10:30am ET/8:30am PT, Fox also owns the Fox Soccer network, as well as premium channel Fox Soccer Plus.

As for ESPN, has broadcast the World Cup on both ESPN and ABC since 1982, recently, ESPN/ABC has televised the World Cup from South Africa in 2010 and Women’s World Cup from Germany in 2011. ESPN and ABC will broadcast its next World Cup coverage from Brazil in 2014. Now with the new deal between FIFA, Fox and Telemundo, however, ESPN will continue to provide highlights of these FIFA matches and the World Cup on SportsCenter and other ESPN programming after 2014 and beyond.

ESPN has extending contracts to broadcast the NFL Monday Night Football, Wimbledon (which brought the entire broadcast rights from NBC), ACC, 22 Pac-12 football games (beginning in 2012) and others like launching the Longhorn Network for college sports in Texas and the Pam American Games on ESPN2 and ESPN Deportes, while Fox signed new contracts to broadcast Pac-12 football (beginning in 2012), college football on FX, Conference-USA, all 40 Big 12 football games, the Big Ten Championship Game and UFC.

If does not sure that who is the dominate sports network on cable television, we know that ESPN/ABC is the most powerful sports network in United States, but can it be more stronger against three other major broadcast sports divisions like Fox, NBC and CBS? Than you will have to stay tuned to the networks that you want to watch your favorite sporting events and your favorite teams.