The Women’s World Cup soccer tournament in France has thus far been a ratings winner for Fox Sports.

Through Sunday’s action, Fox Sports' FIFA Women’s World Cup coverage is averaging 1.07 million viewers, up 16% through day two of the Round of 16 in 2015 (927,000 viewers) and up 92% compared to 2011 through the Group Stage (559,000 – there was no Round of 16 in 2011), according to Nielsen numbers from Fox.

The numbers are paced by the performance of the U.S. Women's National Team, which rolled through the group stage in record fashion, scoring the most goals ever in the stage (including a 13-0 rout of Thailand in the opener) while shutting out its three opponents, Thailand, Chile and Sweden. The team’s 2-1 win over Spain Monday afternoon in the quarterfinal round drew 3.1 million viewers on FS1, which was down 16% from the 2015 round of 16 game -- although the 2015 game aired in primetime. The USWNT won the 2015 tournament, in Canada, defeating Japan in the final game.

Fox Sports executive vice president of research and content strategy Michael Mulvihill spoke with Multichannel News about Fox Sports’ ratings momentum for its Women’s World Cup tournament coverage. 

MCN: How does Fox Sports view its ratings performance for the Women’s World Cup at this point in the tournament?

Michael Mulvihill: We’re very satisfied. There has never been a case where a World Cup or Olympics moved from a North American site to a site elsewhere in the world and had viewership increase in the U.S. The fact that we are there-quarters of the way through the tournament and our average rating is up really runs counter to the long-term trend of events that go from North America abroad, and it's a really pleasant surprise. I think we’ve been encouraged by the numbers that we’ve seen for the U.S. matches, and we’re encouraged by the [ratings] improvement of the non-U.S. matches. It’s not the case anymore where the American audience tunes in for our national team and nothing else … they’re really tuning into non-U.S. team matches as well. I feel like we’ve had good news on several fronts.

MCN: What do the ratings gains say about the growing audience engagement in women’s sports in general and women’s soccer in particular?

MM: There are always numerous factors in a ratings increase or decrease, but in this case the most important factor is that there really is grass roots growth and interest in women’s athletics generally and women’s soccer specifically. I think the experience we had in 2015 -- which was a tremendous success, and ended in the U.S. winning the championship -- set us up pretty well in terms of being able to grow real interest in the event.

MCN: Viewership for the U.S.-Spain afternoon game was down compared to 2015, when the U.S. quarterfinal game was aired in primetime. Will we continue to see a falloff of ratings for Team USA games as we get closer to the finals due to the time zone difference?

MM: It’s possible, and it’s an obstacle for sure. For some of these U.S. games we’re comparing weekday afternoon windows to weekday primetime widows four years ago. We can also look at the other side of the coin and say because the U.S. game was early yesterday we were able to have a U.S. lead-in for the Sweden-Canada game, and that game did quite a bit better than the comparable non-U.S. game four years earlier. So in aggregate, the day came out close to even with the comparable day in 2015.

MCN: The USA women’s team has been in the news for some controversies that have transpired both on the field and off the field. Does that help or hurt ratings for the games?

MM: The most important factor is winning, and I think the manner in which they got through the group stage certainly helps -- they set a record for the most goals ever scored in a group stage, and they didn’t allow a goal until yesterday’s match. They’ve been proceeding in such a fun-to-watch style of play that I think it does help build momentum as we go through the tournament.

MCN: The Women’s World Cup finals takes place the same day as the Concacaf Gold Cup men's soccer tournament final on July 7 -- are you concerned about the competition potentially diluting your viewership? [Fox Sports also has the English-language U.S. TV rights to the Gold Cup; Univision has the Spanish-language rights. Telemundo has the Spanish-language Women's World Cup U.S. rights.]

MM: No, not at all. I think it's actually a lot of fun. The fact that the Concacaf Gold Cup is going on at the same time as the Women’s World Cup is a feast for soccer fans and it makes for a fun summer season, and I think it will culminate in a really fun day a couple of Sundays from now.

MCN: If the unthinkable happens and the U.S. team loses in the World Cup tournament prior to the finals, are you confident that your Women’s World Cup ratings will remain strong for the rest of the tournament?

MM: Let’s acknowledge reality -- there’s no substitute for having our national team in the finals. That clearly would be our preference, and that’s what will deliver the strongest ratings for us. But we can also point out the game between France and Brazil on Sunday that was the most watched, non-U.S. game ever. So far in the round of 16, the viewership that we’ve seen in the non-U.S. games is about double the rating that the non-US games were doing in the round of 16 four years ago. So there’s no sense in pretending that we want to see the U.S. in the finals because obviously we do, but I think we’ve seen some really positive things in the non-U.S. numbers as well. 

Fox Broadcasting scored a major ratings goal Tuesday as its telecast of the USA-Thailand FIFA Women's World Cup soccer match drew more than 2.6 million viewers, according to Nielsen. 

The game, in which the USA team won in a 13-0 blowout, averaged 2.62 million viewers, making it the most watched English-language soccer telecast in the US since last year's men's World Cup final drew 11.6 million viewers, according to Fox. 

Fox Sports executive vice president and head of programming Bill Wanger said he expects ratings for the US women to climb throughout the tournament. 

"Anytime you get a record number of goals it gets people talking and excited," said Wanger. "We expect the US women's team ratings to keep increasing as the tournament goes on."

Digitally, the game delivered the most streamed Fox sports FIFA Women's World Cup match ever with 315,000 unique streamers, according to Fox. Further, Fox Sports social platforms drew 7 million views, the most thus far for the tournament and 525% more than the daily average for the 2015 World Cup, according to Fox.

The USA-Thailand match also delivered for Spanish-language network Telemundo, which averaged 444,000 viewers for the event, more than doubling viewership for the USA team's opening match at the 2015 World Cup, according to Nielsen.  

The USA women play next on Sunday (June 16) against Chile before facing Sweden on June 20. 

Comcast, Dish Network and fuboTV have all announced distribution of the FIFA Women’s World Cup France in 4K.

Starting today, Comcast said it will present live games on X1 via FOX in English and Telemundo in Spanish. The cable operator has hoisted the kind of destination “hub” area on X1 for event feature coverage, accessible via Voice Remote search terms such as “soccer” and “Women’s World Cup.” There’s also easily accessible onscreen data displays of tournament schedules, standings, etc.

Dish, meanwhile, is offering games in 4K and in English on Dish channel 52 to customers who have its Hopper 3 set-top.

And for its part, fuboTV will be the only vMVPD carrying the games in Ultra HD through its 4K beta. The virtual pay TV service will feature games in English on FOX, FX1 and FX2.

The USA-Japan Women’s World Cup soccer telecast Sunday night finished as the most watched soccer game in U.S. television history.

Fox’s 25.4 million viewers for the game -- in which team USA defeated Japan 5-2 to capture its third Women’s World Cup title -- combined with the 1.27 million viewers watching the game on Spanish-language channel Telemundo drew 26.7 million TV viewers. That was more than the 26.5 million who watched the 2014 World Cup final between Germany and Argentina on ABC and Univision, according to reports.

Fox's 25.4 million viewers was the most watched women's soccer game ever, besting the 17.9 million viewers pulled in by the 1999 USA-China Women’s World Cup final, according to Fox officials.

It is also the most-watched English-language soccer match in U.S. history, easily spiking the previous mark of 18.2 million set by USA-Portugal during last year’s World Cup group stage match.

Telemundo's 1.27 million total viewers for the match was the most watched Spanish-language U.S. soccer broadcast ever, up 97% vs. the 2011 U.S. Spanish-language broadcast of the final, according to Nielsen.

The USA-Japan telecast compares favorably with other major sports events this year. Last night’s match average audience exceeded every game of the NBA Finals, the 2014-15 broadcast season average of every show in primetime, including Sunday Night Football, and the primetime average of the Sochi Olympic Winter Games, according to Fox.

Last night’s match also delivered the most-watched telecast since the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament championship game on CBS, which posted 28.3 million viewers this past April.

On the web, FOX Sports GO set a new record with 232,000 unique streamers, the largest authenticated streaming audience in FOX Sports GO history. That bested the previous mark set by the USA-Germany semifinal (166,000 unique streamers).  Women’s World Cup matches now comprise FOX Sports GO’s top 5 most-viewed events ever, according to the company.  

More details from a Fox release: 

Viewing on Fox peaked between 8:30 and 8:45 p.m. ET with 30.9 million viewers. The match topped the 2011 Women's World Cup Final game -- also featuring USA vs. Japan (which won on penalty kicks) -- by 89% (13.5 million). And 43.2 million viewers watched all or part of the match.

Fox's coverage of the team USA's triumphant Women's World Cup tournament win Sunday posted a record 15.2/27 metered market household rating/share, according to Nielsen.

The telecast, in which the USA team defeated Japan for the title, surpassed the previous mark of 13.3 rating set by the 1999 USA-China Women's World Cup final, according to network officials.

The match rating was up 77% over the 8.6 rating recorded by ESPN for the USA vs. Japan Women’s World Cup final in 2011, according to Fox.

Fox Sports Tuesday night continued to set ratings records for its Women’s World Cup coverage, as the U.S. Women’s National Team defeated Germany to advance to the finals of the tournament .

Fox averaged 8.4 million viewers for its coverage of the USA-Germany game, which beat out the 5.7 million viewers garnered by last week’s USA-China quarterfinal match, according to Fox officials. USA won the match 2-0 to advance to the finals Sunday against the winner of tonight’s Japan-England semi-final match.

The 2015 USA-Germany semifinal is now the third most-watched women’s soccer match of all time, trailing only the USA-China 1999 Women’s World Cup Final (17.9 million) and the Japan-USA 2011 Women’s World Cup Final (13.4 million).

USA-Germany is the most-watched World Cup semifinal match – men’s or women’s -ever in the U.S., breaking the mark set for the Germany-Italy 2006 World Cup semifinal (5.9 million).

FOX Sports GO recorded a record 166,000 unique streamers, according to network officials.  This was the largest authenticated streaming audience in FOX Sports GO history, besting the previous mark set by the USA vs. Colombia round of 16 match (121,000 unique streamers), said the network.

Another USA Women’s World Cup win, another record ratings score for Fox Sports.

Friday’s US Women’s National Team win over China set an all-time women’s soccer match ratings record, drawing 5.7 million viewers, according to Nielsen. The game’s audience was 14% about the previous record of 5 million viewers garnered by the June 18 USA-Nigeria Group Stage match.

The audience for USA-China (5.7 million) is +46% better than the audience for the USA’s Quarterfinal match in 2011 vs. Brazil on ESPN (3.9 million).

At its peak the game the game drew an audience-high 8.1 million viewers from 9 to 9:15 p.m. USA-China was also the highest-rated program among adults 18-49 (2.0) since the March 18 finale of the network's drama series Empire.

The USA Women’s team will take on Germany next week in a Women’s World Cup semi-final match

Fox Sports Saturday will kick off its unprecedented coverage the FIFA 2015 Women’s World Cup from Canada. Fox broadcast network, Fox Sports 1 and Fox Sports 2 will combine to air all 52 matches from the tournament, which will run from June 6 to July 5.

I chatted with David Neal, executive producer for Fox Sports’ WWC coverage, and here are a few things he pointed out about the Women’s World Cup and Fox’s coverage of the event.  

Fox Sports is Going Big: “This is the largest Women’s World Cup in history with 52 games, up from 36 four years ago, 24 teams, up from 16 in 2011. We’re covering all [WWC] games live on television whether its Fox, FS1 or FS2 and online on Fox Sports Go which has never been done before. Overall we’ll offer more than 200 hours of coverage for the tournament. We have 28 on-air talent for both live game and studio coverage and a total workforce of 400 Fox Sports employees, so we are fully committed to covering the entirety of the tournament. We think it’s an important moment for this event and for women’s sport.”

Increased Coverage Of On Field Action: “There will be a minimum of 20 cameras for each game, and it ramps up to 22 and 24 when you get to the semis and the finals. That’s world class coverage level – by comparison an MLS game might only have eight cameras. It will be gold standard, world class coverage and I think viewers will benefit from that.”

Women’s Soccer Has Grown in Popularity: “There’s no question about it. An interesting litmus test was when the US. Women’s team played their final sendoff game at Red Bull Arena and it was sold out. The exact same matchup four years ago drew barely 6,000 fans into the arena. That tells you in four years’ time the level of popularity this team has achieved and the familiarity Americans have with the team now.”

Fox Sports has tapped Sky Sports journalist Kate Abdo to join its studio team's coverage of the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup from Canada.

Abdo, who anchors Sky Sports News in the UK and been a part of its Premier League’s Deadline Day and European futbol presentations, including the UEFA European Qualifiers and Coppa Italia, just helmed Fox Sports 1's coverage of the prestigious Algarve Cup.

She also worked with Rob Stone, Fox Sports' primetime studio host for WWC, as, the pair presented Fox's coverage of the FIFA Women’s World Cup Draw show last December. 

During the upcoming women's event from Canada from which Fox will provide unprecedented coverage by televising all 52 matches, including 16 on the broadcast network, Abdo and Stone will anchor programming from the programmer's customized two-story state-of-the-art studio center on picturesque Coal Harbor in Vancouver. 

“Kate is a highly respected journalist and media personality with years of experience in soccer,” said David Neal, executive producer for Fox Sports WWC coverage. “Kate brings her expertise, presence, and passion for the game to our coverage of the FIFA Women’s World Cup. We are delighted to have her join our team.”

As part of its inaugural presentations under its multimedia rights deal with FIFA, NBC Universo will be the home of team USA group stage matches in the upcoming Women’s World Cup from Canada and the men’s U-20 competition from New Zealand.

Telemundo and NBC Universo, the Spanish-language cable network formerly known as mun2,  this year will combine to offer 560 hours of soccer action from those events, as well the Beach Soccer World Cup and U-17 competitions across multiple platforms

Coverage will include 344 hours of online and mobile live-streams making it the first time that all 52 matches of the quartet of FIFA tourneys will be made available in Spanish to a nationwide audience.

“We are proud to be the first media company to offer such a comprehensive coverage of FIFA World Cup events in the United States in Spanish,” said Joe Uva, chairman, Hispanic Enterprises and Content, NBCUniversal. “Starting in May, we will leverage all of our linear and digital platforms to bring to U.S. Hispanics the best soccer in the world presented by an experienced team of talent and professionals with a deep understanding of sports broadcasting and storytelling.”

The men’s U20 World Cup, scheduled from May 29 through June 19, and the 2015 Women’s World Cup from Canada, playing out from June 6 through July 5, are the initial competitions under the $600 million deal Telemundo reached with FIFA and covers competitions through 2022.

“This is a unique opportunity for Telemundo, NBC Universo and their digital platforms to provide unprecedented Spanish-language coverage of these FIFA events for our viewers,” said Eli Velazquez, executive vice president of sports at Hispanic Enterprises and Content, NBCUniversal.

Four days after the FIFA Women’s World Cup champion is decided, the men’s FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup, hosted by Portugal, will take place from July 9 to July 19. It will be followed by the final FIFA World Cup competition of 2015 featuring U-17 national teams, which will take the pitch in Chile from Oct. 17 to Nov, 8.

Schedules for the Beach Soccer and U-17 tourney have not been finalized as qualifying continues, according to executives.

Last month, Telemundo and Fox Sports, the English-language rights-holder, both added  for an undisclosed amount – sans bidding --the rights to the 2023-26 cycle of FIFA evemts. The last year under that new pact  could include the men’s World Cup here in the States. The extensions were widely construed as a means to appease the parties because the 2022 event from Qatar officially has been moved into November-December period of that year, when it will compete for viewer/fan interest against the American football, basketball and hockey seasons.

"We will go where the games are,” said Velazquez.

He also extended congratulations to France, which will host the 2019 Women’s World Cup.

“The French women's team is really a factor in the group stage and beyond in 2015 in Canada,” said Velazquez. “ Looking to 2019, France is a  more favorable time zone than South Korea.”

After dropping a 2-0 decision to France in a friendly during January, the U.S. turned the tables on Les Bleus by the same score in the final of the prestigious Algarve Cup earlier this month (pictured.).

As to the more immediate futbol business afoot, NBCUniversal’s Spanish-language networks, which supplanted former rights-holder Univision, have released their lineups through the group stage, and will kick similar scheduling game plans into play in May, June and July.

For the under 20 competition, Telemundo will air live 10 matches, including all competitions involving the Mexican national team – three group stage matches --plus two round of 16 matches, a pair of quarterfinals, one semifinal and the championship match. NBC Universo has 21 matches, including the New Zealand-Ukraine opener, all U.S. national team group stage matches, two Mexican team simulcasts, four round of 16 matches, two quarters and one semifinal. It will also encore the title match,

Given 16 hour-time difference to the east coast, Velazquez said the programmer is still mapping its strategy for more encore presentations on NBC Universo.

The presence of Mexican and U.S. teams in the tourney aside, Velasquez believes the presence of Argentina, Colombia, Uruguay and other Latino-speaking nations will enable the programmer to appeal to the audiences we “super-serve.”

On the women’s side of the pitch, Telemundo also will air 10 matches, including the tourney opener between the host nation and China, a trio of round-of-16 matches, one quarterfinal match and the final. The cable network, which counts some 40 million subscribers, will feature 21 live matches, including all U.S..group stage matches -- as well as a simulcast of its competition, if it advances to later rounds -- four round-of-16 encounters, two quarters and both semifinals. NBC Univserso will also encore the opening and championship matches.

“We believe it is unique marketing opportunity for NBC Universo to be the home of U.S. women’s soccer during the group stage,” Velazquez.said, noting scheduling may place the team’s matches on Telemundo as the tournament progresses.

Asked to comment about Telemundo/NBC Universo's decision, vis a vis  Fox Sports' call to televise the entirety of the women’s event, in which the second-ranked U.S. is one of the favorites,  Velazquez said NBCU's schedule is “respectful and representative of where the women’s game is, and its growth” over the years.

Taking a page from NBC Sports Group’s playbook, the Hispanic Enterprises and Content unit will place heavy emphasis on letting viewers/users meet and get to know the players and coaches. Velazquez said the programmer, working with attendant federations,  already has sent crews to Latin and South America.

“We’re talking to some of the key athletes and coaches,” said Velazquez. “We want to tell the stories, so people can really start to follow these events and the participants and get invested. in them.”

He believes this approach not only will pay dividends in 2015, but for the rest of the FIFA cycle as it will enable fans to familiarize themselves with the best futbolers to come.

"Somewhere out there are the next Messsi and Ronaldos," said Velazquez.  "The next great players are going to come from these events.”

In a lead up to its 2015 Women's World Cup coverage this June, Fox Sports 1 will televise U.S. team action from the prestigious Algarve Cup from Portugal.

FS1 will present three of FIFA's second-ranked U.S. women's team matches, beginning with the club's opener versus No. 12 Norway on March 4 at 2 p.m. (ET). The match, which will feature the international feed, marks the first time the Algarve Cup will be available live Stateside. Previously, Algarve Cup games were available in the U.S. on pay-per-view or, in 2013, on delay via Fox Soccer Plus.

Featuring 11 of the top 12 FIFA squads (the host is ranked 42nd), the tournament kicks off on Wednesday at 2 p.m. (ET),  when the USWNT, the most successful team in Algarve Cup history with nine titles in 19 tourney appearances, faces Norway, the third-most successful team with three crowns.

Two days later, the USA takes on Switzerland, which plays in its first Women’s World Cup this summer, on Friday, March 6 at noon. The USA also faces Iceland in its final group match on Monday, March 9, but  due to inadequate lighting at the Municipal Stadium in Lagos, it can't be televised.

The USA’s placement match is set for Wednesday, March 11 at 1 p.m.

Digitally, all games are available on tablets and mobile devices via the FOX Sports GO app and online at www.FOXSportsGO.com.

Following group play, the teams are placed into three groups and seeded into 11th-place to first-place matches in the final round. The Algarve Cup is the last major international tournament women’s national teams play before the Women's World Cup begins play in Canada in June. 

“This tournament is a great tune-up for the world’s best teams as the Women’s World Cup approaches,” said FIFA World Cup on Fox executive producer David Neal. “Six of the world’s top-10 ranked teams are in this year’s Algarve Cup, and we’re excited to showcase them and deliver our viewers more important women’s soccer.”

FS1’s coverage begins with a 30-minute pregame show prior to each match, followed by halftime and postgame coverage anchored by Rob Stone and Kate Abdo from the Fox Network Center in Los Angeles. A rotating group of former national team players, including retired USWNT stars Leslie Osborne and Angela Hucles, U.S. Soccer Hall of Famer Alexi Lalas and legendary 1999 Women’s World Cup winning coach Tony DiCicco, serve as analysts alongside Stone or Abdo for each match on FS1.

Fox Sports has tapped Rob Stone as its primetime studio host for its upcoming coverage of the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup this summer from Canada.

Stone, the programmer's top futbol studio host, will helm the shows, including pregame, halftime and postgame coverage, and other FIFA Women’s World Cup 2015-related fare throughout the month-long tournament from its studio on Coal Harbor in Vancouver. 

Stone, a former Division I soccer player at Colgate, has been with Fox Sports since January 2012, joining from ESPN, where he was involved with the Bristol behemoth's 2006 World Cup coverage from Germany.  At Fox, Stone has led coverage of the Premier League, UEFA Champions League and other top soccer leagues in Europe, in addition to hosting college football and college basketball studio programming. Stone is set to work with a team of Fox Sports soccer analysts to be announced at a later date.

21st Century Fox, which began counting down the 100 days to the distaff tourney with a 30-second promo roadblocked on 34 networks on Feb. 24, will present all 52 matches from Canada, including an unprecedented 16 live on its broadcast network. Fox Sports 1 and Fox Sports 2 will also be in game play, flanked by simulcasts on authenticated TVE service, Fox Sports Go.

“Rob is an exceptional studio host with a deep understanding of international soccer, so he is the perfect choice to anchor our Women’s World Cup coverage in prime time,” said David Neal, executive producer for Fox Sports' 2015 WWC coverage.  “An event like this is similar to an Olympics, with many moving parts, and excellent hosts are smart, personable and have a little traffic cop inside them. Rob brings those attributes to the job every day.”

Noted Stone: “Covering a massive global tournament in this role is what few in our industry get the opportunity to do, and I am honored that FOX Sports has entrusted this responsibility to me.I passionately care about this sport and am excited to get started, especially following the excitement we saw during last summer’s World Cup.”

All told, Fox will serve more than 200 WWC hours from north of the border, beginning with reports on America's Pregame and Fox Sports Live on June 4, a preview show the next day and the start of group play on June 6.

The draw for the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup will unfold in Ottawa this Saturday and the U.S. rights-holders to the tourney will provide extensive coverage of the group selections.

Spanish-language broadcaster Telemundo and its cable cousin mun 2 will simulcast the draw on Dec. 6 at noon (ET), while Fox Sports 1 and Fox Sports 2 are also in the game. Distaff futbol fans can also keep abreast of the picks on Deportes Telemundo En Vivo Extra App and via the authenticated Fox Sports GO platform.

During the ceremony at the Canadian Museum of History, the 24 teams will be selected into six groups of four sides. Host nation Canada, the U.S., FIFA's top-ranked team, No. 2 Germany and defending champion Japan, which currently holds down the third position, are expected to head four of the groupings.

In addition to Canada and the U.S., CONCACAF has two other representatives: Mexico and Costa Rica, while South America’s CONMEBOL has Colombia, Brazil and Ecuador. Europe has seven other sides besides the Germans: Norway, Sweden, England, France, Switzerland, Spain and Holland. Africa has three entries, Nigeria, Ivory Coast and Cameroon, while Australia and New Zealand emerged from Oceania.  Japan, along with China, Korea Republic and Thailand, comprise the Asian contingent.

The FIFA Women’s World Cup Canada 2015 will play out across six host cities: Vancouver, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Ottawa, Montreal and Moncton, kicking off Saturday, June 6 and ending with the championship match on July 5. 

Telemundo’s coverage will be led by legendary sportscaster Andrés Cantor, in concert with Jessi Losada, three-time top Mexican scorer Carlos Hermosillo, and former Chivas de Guadalajara player Manuel Sol. Veteran commentator Sammy Sadovnik and Ritmo Deportivo host Leti Coo will report from Canada.

Deportes Telemundo’s coverage will include profiles on top women’s players from around the globe, as well as interviews with Hispanic players and coaches from some of the leading Latin American teams, including Leonardo Cuéllar, a recent inductee into the World Soccer Hall of Fame, and the coach, with his son, of the Mexican national women’s team.  

Rob Stone is the face on the Fox flank from Los Angeles, anchoring FS1’s hour-long show, which will mark the first time since the tourney was held Stateside in 1999 that the women’s draw will be televised in this nation in English.

Sky Sports correspondent Kate Abdo will be on the scene north of the border, where she will work with three-time Olympic gold medalist and retired U.S. team defender Heather Mitts; Ariane Hingst, a two-time World Cup champ with Germany; Kelly Smith, England’s all time national team goal-scorer; and Tony DiCicco, the head coach of the 1999 U.S. World Cup champions.   

Fox Sports soccer insider and Sports Illustrated senior columnist Grant Wahl will provide analysis and get the post-draw reaction from current U.S. head coach Jill Ellis in Canada.

With four FIFA tourneys on tap in 2015, Telemundo and mun2 will devote some 550 hours to the events, including the Women’s World Cup, covering 188 matches.

The competitions will unfold on four continents and mark the first manifestations of the $600 million rights deal Telemundo/mun2 struck with FIFA back in October 2011, when it outbid long-time incumbent Univision for Spanish-language media rights from 2015-2022. Fox spent some $400 million for the English-language rights to the cycle, unseating ESPN.

Specific schedules were not revealed, owing in part to draws. For instance, the groups and matchups for the Women’s World Cup in Canada will not be divulged until Dec. 6. In 2011, Japan (pictured) topped the U.S. on penalties to win the title in Frankfurt, Germany.

Match coverage will be led by commentator Andres Cantor, along with Sammy Sadovnik and former players Carlos Hermosillo and Manuel Sol.

“We are proud to see the first tangible manifestation of this major acquisition, which will bring unprecedented exposure for Telemundo and mun2,” said Joe Uva, chairman of Hispanic enterprises and content at NBCUniversal. “And offer a unique opportunity to accelerate audience growth and consolidate our position in the industry.”

In addition to the WWC, which will play out north of the border among 24 sides -- up from 16 in previous quadrennials -- and 52 matches, Telemundo/mun2 will also showcase beach soccer and a pair of youth soccer tourneys.

Like the WWC, the FIFA under-20 and under-17 events will showcase 24 teams over 52 matches in New Zealand from May 30 through June 20 and Chile from Oct. 17 through Nov. 8, respectively. These are biennial competitions.

Similarly, the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup has been played every two years since 2005. After Russia won the most recent competition in Tahiti, the 2015 event – 16, five-player teams will meet over 32 games --  will be staged in Portugal from July 9-19.

As a prelude to its upcoming coverage of the Women's World Cup from Canada next year, Fox Sports will present all of the CONCACAF qualifiers, kicking off in mid-October.

All told, the English-language rights-holder in the U.S. to FIFA properties from 2015 through 2022 will present all 16 matches, including those involving the top-ranked American.side, which was the runner-up to Japan in FIFA' 2011 tournament. This will mark the first time that the entire CONCACAF Women's Championship will be televised, with matches airing live on Fox Sports 1 and 2, as well as streamed live and on-demand via Fox Soccer2Go and Fox Sports Go.

The top three of the eight CONCACAF squads -- North America (United States, Mexico), Central America (Guatemala, Costa Rica) and the Caribbean (Haiti, Martinique, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago) -- move onto the 2015 Women's World Cup. Canada as the host nation already has a berth and is not part of this competition.

“We are very excited about the opportunity to showcase some of the best in women’s soccer,” said Fox Sports executive producer, FIFA World Cup on Fox, David Neal. “Our dedication to the growth of this sport in America has never been more evident than by the extraordinary coverage we have on tap for this year’s CONCACAF Women’s Championship.”

The action starts Oct. 15 with doubleheader live from Kansas City’s Sporting Park on FS2 as Guatemala takes on Haiti at 6 p.m. (ET), followed at 8:30 p.m. by the U.S. Women’s National Team opener against Trinidad and Tobago live on the network.  An encore is scheduled for FS1 later that night.

The Mexican women’s national team kicks off its World Cup qualifying hopes one day later, against Costa Rica at 8:30 p.m. on FS2.

The U.S., which stumbled to Mexico back in 2010 and had to take a circuitous route to qualify for the 2011 World Cup, headlines the FS1 action on Friday, Oct. 17 facing Guatemala live from Toyota Park in Chicago at 9 p.m. (ET) Abby Wambach, Alex Morgan and netminder Hope Solo, who is expected to play despite a pending domestic violence case, conclude their qualifying matches live against Haiti in Washington D.C.’s RFK Stadium on Monday, Oct. 20 on FS1 at 7:30 p.m.

The semifinals are on tap on Friday, Oct. 25, trailed by the third-place match and final on Sunday, Oct. 26,  both live on FS1. Pregame coverage begins in-studio before each USWNT match 30 minutes prior to kickoff. See below for the complete schedule.