World cup schedule eastern time zone tv#
World cup schedule eastern time zone windows#

The NFL deals with fan bases that mostly live in a home team’s region FIFA deals with travelers from around the world, some of whom have bought tickets months in advance and booked flights or trains for the morning of a game. The schedule is “100% locked in.”īecause a World Cup and an NFL Sunday are completely different animals. There had been “no discussions” between FIFA and Fox, and there were no “possibilities around flexing kick off times based on results,” one source said. Central European Time.īut such a move has never been considered, according to multiple people with knowledge of the situation. In theory, organizers could flip the kickoff times of the two Sunday games in Melbourne and Sydney - to put the USWNT at 10 p.m. There was a thought, among some savvy American viewers who enjoy sleep, that FIFA could “flex” games like the NFL does. And once the schedule is set, there’s no going back.

World cup schedule eastern time zone tv#

If they had again in 2023, they’d have earned two more prime-time games, and two more massive TV audiences.īut they didn’t. After all, the Americans had topped their group at all but one previous Women’s World Cup. Which is why FIFA took a chance on the USWNT topping Group E. Those benefits, in various ways, outweigh any cost.

COT, more than every 2022 men’s World Cup match except for the epic final, according to FIFA. Colombia’s opener against South Korea, at noon on a Tuesday in Sydney, drew over 9 million Colombian viewers at 9 p.m. on a Thursday, while locals were working.īut it drew a record-breaking TV audience to Fox and Telemundo. And it didn’t sell out - probably because it began at 1 p.m. The U.S.-Netherlands showdown, tailor-made for the U.S. (Photo by Ulrik Pedersen/DeFodi Images via Getty Images)

The USWNT failed to win its group and now must face the winner of Group G on Sunday at 5 a.m. China and European teams, meanwhile, played late into the Aussie night. The U.S., Canada, Argentina and Colombia, for example, all played early-afternoon matches Down Under - and therefore in prime time back home. Here, at the Women’s World Cup, it prioritized the markets of participating teams, game-by-game, growing the sport country-by-country.

World cup schedule eastern time zone windows#

“FIFA always attempts to find the best possible balance between making the game accessible to fans in the local market, whilst maximizing global appeal.”Īt the men’s World Cup, it sought truly global appeal, with fixed windows for games every day - 1, 4, 7 and 10 p.m. And while in-stadium audiences are one factor, “it is important to schedule matches at times that support the development and accessibility of the sport globally,” the spokesperson said. “It is a highly complex process which balances travel, player welfare, pitch management, television, and logistics, among other factors,” a FIFA spokesperson told Yahoo Sports in an emailed statement. With groups set and locations already decided, FIFA officials of all kinds - from various divisions, including competitions, team services, administration, broadcast, event promotion, partnerships and communications - gathered to sort out kickoff times, and piece together a sprawling puzzle. The World Cup schedule was finalized over several intense hours immediately after October’s draw. How FIFA crafts the Women’s World Cup schedule women’s national team, optimization backfired. television partners.īut thanks to a flailing U.S. The schedule had been optimized for the American audience, and for Fox Sports and Telemundo, FIFA’s U.S. The U.S., meanwhile, will head to Melbourne to play at 7 p.m. So it’s the Dutch who will go to Sydney - for a game that will begin at 10 p.m. The Netherlands strolled past Vietnam to the top of the group. And on Tuesday at Eden Park, their fears were realized.