FOX Sports & Nat Geo Partner for World Cup Content

NEW YORK: FOX Sports and National Geographic are teaming up to enhance coverage for the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

The two will work together on comprehensive, multiplatform visual coverage. FOX’s state-of-the-art game telecast will be bolstered by National Geographic’s global photographers, videographers, journalists, mapmakers and graphic artists.

Early plans include a National Geographic hosted and curated consumer expedition to the World Cup, as well as feature stories for National Geographic Magazine and National Geographic Traveler and a guide and special edition magazines devoted to the World Cup as well as Russian culture and history.

“National Geographic is unmatched in its devotion to our planet, with photographers, videographers and writers all over the world, and that’s particularly so in Russia,” said Eric Shanks, FOX Sports’ president and CEO. “Our goal is to take advantage of the substantial editorial access our colleagues at National Geographic have already established in Russia, which will clearly add a depth and texture to our storytelling, especially the features, vignettes and bumpers intended to capture the country’s beauty, diversity and culture.”

“National Geographic has experienced journalists on the ground throughout Russia who will collaborate with our Emmy Award-winning sports producers and videographers to develop a much deeper level of content,” added Shanks. “This collaboration should provide unparalleled storytelling we can use in many of the World Cup-related programs and digital offerings currently in development.”

“This unique collaboration is what our expanded partnership with Fox is all about—combining world-class storytelling with tremendous scale and expertise,” said Susan Goldberg, editor in chief atNational Geographic.