One of the major media stories of this calendar year will be Fox’s debut on the international soccer stage airing their first World Cup. The 2015 Women’s World Cup is rapidly approaching this summer and so far the network has made several changes in anticipation of the event. Fox has added new pieces like Alexi Lalas, Brad Friedel, and John Strong and subtracting others with Gus Johnson stepping down as their lead soccer announcer.
One of the stalwarts in Fox’s soccer coverage throughout the transition has been affable studio host Rob Stone. Perhaps it’s fitting then that the hambone enthusiast was named as the first piece of the puzzle for Fox’s World Cup coverage emanating from Canada.
Here’s the announcement from Fox:
FOX Sports’ lead soccer studio host Rob Stone has been officially tabbed as the prime-time studio host for the network’s unprecedented coverage of FIFA Women’s World CupTM 2015 in Canada later this year. The announcement was made today by David Neal, executive producer for FOX Sports’ FIFA Women’s World Cup coverage.
“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,” Neal said. “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.”
Stone anchors FOX Sports’ studio shows, including pregame, halftime and postgame coverage, and other FIFA Women’s World CupTM 2015 related programming throughout the month-long tournament from the network’s state-of-the-art two-story studio on picturesque Coal Harbor in Vancouver. The former Division I soccer player, who joined FOX Sports from ESPN in January 2012, takes on the most high-profile assignment of his career to-date as the prime time studio host of this summer’s Women’s World Cup. Stone has hosted FOX Sports’ 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.
“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,” Stone said. “I passionately care about this sport and am excited to get started, especially following the excitement we saw during last summer’s World Cup.”
It’s good to see Fox stick with the well-liked Stone as primetime host for the tournament given his experience at the network and his passion for the sport. Additionally, he gives a little something different than Bob Ley or Rebecca Lowe that can distinguish Fox’s coverage. It’ll be important for Fox to bring in some capable studio analysts fluent in the women’s game to supplement their current lineup and I’d expect to see some USWNT vets and other experts come in for the tournament as we’ve seen with ESPN in years past.
Another element Fox revealed is their studio being based in Vancouver during the tournament, which sounds like a great place to center coverage. Fox will get a major boost with the tournament taking place in North America and the USWNT and Canadian national teams being major contenders. Everything is lined up for the network to have fantastic ratings this summer and get off to a good start with their World Cup journey.
