WBSC, Host Broadcaster USSSA to showcase record coverage, all 50 games of Women’s Baseball World Cup 2018 in Florida

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.

Fenway Park added to Trophy Tour

The WBSC Women’s Baseball World Cup 2018 Trophy Tour Presented by USSSA/Florida’s Space Coast will stop at six Major League Baseball (MLB) stadiums in July and August, with Fenway Park – home of the Boston Red Sox – the latest to be added to the tour (14 July).

Twelve National Teams will compete For the Title of World Champion in the Women’s Baseball World Cup 2018:

• Group A: USA, 2016 bronze medallist Venezuela, Chinese Taipei, Korea, Netherlands and unranked Puerto Rico
• Group B: Five-time defending World Champion Japan, 2016 runner-up Canada, Australia, Cuba, Hong Kong and first-timer Dominican Republic

The game schedule — and broadcast partner and live-streaming details — of the WBSC Women’s Baseball World Cup 2018 will be announced in future releases.