The semifinals of Copa América and Euro 2024 begin today with plenty of star power left in both tournaments that have already produced record viewership for Fox, which owns U.S. media rights to each event. The group-stage match between the U.S. and Uruguay was the most-watched English-language Copa América telecast ever in the U.S., attracting 3.77 million viewers. Argentina’s victory over Ecuador on July 4 drew an audience of 1.86 million, which is a record number for a Copa América quarterfinal that doesn’t involve the U.S. The Euros had the most-watched round of 16 ever, with games averaging 1.98 million viewers. In Copa América, the draw of Lionel Messi remains as he will lead Argentina against Canada. England is looking to return to the final of the Euros after its loss to Italy in the championship match in 2021 produced the most-watched U.S. broadcast of the Euros with 6.48 million viewers on ESPN. This is the first year that Fox is broadcasting the Euros after taking over the rights from ESPN. Next year, the UEFA Women’s Euro will similarly move to Fox. Copa América has been broadcast by Fox since 2016. The financial terms of those deals are not known, but the real kicker for Fox is the network’s rights to the FIFA men’s and women’s World Cups. In 2011, Fox won FIFA rights, also previously held by ESPN, after agreeing to pay $425 million for a contract running from ’15 to ’22. Then, in ’15, FIFA extended Fox’s deal until the ’26 World Cup, which was awarded to the U.S., Canada, and Mexico.
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