Fox Sports has denied any issues with ESPN over World Cup coverage this week, after a story suggested the network was frustrated by the Worldwide Leader’s lack of content around the tournament.
Earlier this week, Front Office Sports reported that anonymous Fox executives had taken issue with ESPN’s minimal coverage of the 2026 FIFA World Cup after its daytime studio shows had seemingly pledged to do so. Though FIFA enforces strict regulations on the timing and length of World Cup highlights, Fox execs were seemingly still not content with what they saw as too little attention to the USMNT and the tournament overall.
Awful Announcing on Wednesday published a response from Mike Foss, ESPN’s EVP and executive editor.
“Our sole focus is providing fans with the most comprehensive coverage of sports across platforms daily,” Foss told Awful Announcing. “While World Cup footage that can be utilized by non-rights holders (as is the case in the U.S.) is severely limited, ESPN is delivering world-class analysis, journalism, and context in spite of those restrictions.”
FIFA limits non-rights holders to two minutes of total match highlights per show, with a maximum of 90 seconds coming from any one individual match. This footage can also only air once a given country’s rights-holding broadcaster has finished its coverage for the day. With late-night matches and a James Corden-hosted late-night show on the schedule this year, Fox often doesn’t finish its World Cup coverage until into the morning on the East Coast.
But as more outlets covered the supposed issues between Fox and ESPN, the former issued a statement denying any frustration on its part.
“This is simply not true. We are focused on our own coverage of the biggest event in the world, not on what others choose to air,” a Fox spokesperson told The Athletic’s Andrew Marchand. “And frankly, it’s insulting to ESPN to suggest they would pass on covering it. This is all absurd.”
FOS reporter Michael McCarthy, who broke the initial story, responded soon after, writing, “Good for you. But I stand by my story.”
The initial story included just one quote, attributed to an anonymous “source,” not specified as an executive, who asked “where the hell was ESPN?” after the USMNT’s big win over Paraguay last Friday.
Despite the fresh denials, FOS is standing by McCarthy’s initial report.
“We stand by Mike’s reporting and sourcing. Good story,” FOS editor-in-chief Daniel Roberts told Awful Announcing.
Sports networks regularly throw stones over what is covered and how, as do leagues and conferences that want their teams to get more attention. Rarely do these disagreements spill over into actual news.
The saga is particularly bizarre given the incredibly strong numbers Fox has drawn for its World Cup broadcasts so far, including an average of more than 18 million viewers for the USMNT opener. Presumably, they would want that to be what everyone was talking about.
About Brendon Kleen
Brendon is a Media Commentary staff writer at Awful Announcing. He has also covered basketball and sports business at Front Office Sports, SB Nation, Uproxx and more.