RELEASE FROM WBSC
LAUSANNE, Switzerland – The World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) and the United States Special Sports Association (USSSA) today announced a host broadcasting agreement that will see record coverage and production of the WBSC Women’s Baseball World Cup® 2018 in Viera, Florida.
The VIII Women’s Baseball World Cup, which will be staged at the USSSA Space Coast Complex from 22-31 August, marks the first time the event is to be played in the U.S.
As part of the host broadcasting partnership, and also for the first time ever, all 50 games of the Women’s Baseball World Cup — baseball’s biggest stage for women — will be produced and available to global audiences, along with in-game commentary and highlights packages.
“The WBSC is excited to partner with USSSA to guarantee record coverage, broadcast reach and brand exposure for the Women’s Baseball World Cup and all event stakeholders,” said WBSC President Riccardo Fraccari. “More importantly, through this agreement, we will be able to deliver the major-event coverage that these top female athletes deserve, while putting Florida’s Space Coast at the centre of the international baseball universe. The Women’s Baseball World Cup 2018 will be the biggest, best and most followed edition yet.”
USSSA Acting CEO Don DeDonatis III said: “USSSA is honoured to be awarded host broadcasting rights of the WBSC Women’s Baseball World Cup. The Women’s Baseball World Cup represents our biggest production operation to date. It’s exciting for USSSA to be a part of this record coverage and help deliver the biggest Women’s Baseball World Cup in history. This is an exciting time and we are proud that these precedents are being set here at our USSSA Space Coast Complex.”
Opening Round games will feature five broadcast cameras and one on-field handheld camera to capture all the action on the field-of-play, with production expanded to seven broadcast cameras and one on-field camera for the intense Super Round and Finals.
The last WBSC Women’s Baseball World Cup, which was played in Gijang, Korea, in 2016, registered a broadcast reach of approximately 100 million households and generated an online viewership from 198 countries and territories.
Baseball Australia and the Australian Sports Foundation have teamed up to start a campaign and raise funds for the Australian Emeralds World Cup campaign.
The Emeralds are made up of dedicated women from around the country who are mostly self-funded as they continue their dream to bring women's baseball in Australia to new heights.
A contribution to the Australian women's baseball program will also help build and sustain women's baseball in Australia for years to come.