Photo: Kelly Cestari/WSL
On Tuesday, the WSL announced they’d reached an agreement to make FOX Sports the exclusive television broadcaster for the 2019 Men’s and Women’s Championship Tours and the Big Wave Tour. The partnership will result in more than 500 hours of World Surf League programming on the national FOX network, its two cable sports networks, FS1 and FS2, and the FOX Sports mobile app.
What’s probably most intriguing about the news is that the WSL said FS2 will telecast all Championship Tour contests “live or close to live.” Of course, that “close to live” distinction leaves things a bit dubious because the WSL didn’t share any details about the mechanics of that broadcasting approach–or what forces would dictate a “close to live” telecast.
“We’re delighted with the additional coverage FOX Sports will bring to our events and millions of fans across multiple platforms,” WSL Chief Executive Officer Sophie Goldschmidt said in a League-sponsored presser. “With our athletes continuing to take the sport to new performance levels, more people than ever can now witness the excitement of professional surfing and everything that comes with our world-class events.”
To round off its event coverage, FS1 will run eight one-hour highlight shows after certain contests throughout the year — although the specific contests weren’t mentioned. FS2 will air the US Open of Surfing from July 27th to August 4th.
