From now until the conclusion of the World Cup on July 13, Fusion hosts Nando Vila and Simon Carr won’t have a day off.
Vila and Carr will host Fusion’s “Soccer Gods,” typically a weekly show, seven nights a week from Brazil. Fusion’s parent companies, Walt Disney and Univision, both have broadcast rights to the World Cup, giving Fusion the opportunity to cover the tournament with its own twist, Carr and Vila told TVNewser in a joint interview.
“We’re in a great position now that we can put our spin on the day’s events because our parents companies own the rights,” Carr said.
“We don’t take ourselves too seriously at all … we try to bring that to the broadcast,” Vila added. “We’re just two guys having a good time and enjoying all this has to offer.”
Fusion CEO Isaac Lee called the World Cup “the ultimate multiplatform event” that the network is covering from all angles, building an entire second screen platform that will allow users to follow the action through live match blogs and real-time standings and stats. With the actual World Cup matches available to fans across a variety of platforms, Carr and Vila want to punch up their show with highlights from both on and off the field.
“We come at it from a fan’s perspective. We both grew up loving the sport,” Carr said. “People want to see what’s going on around the tournament … the lifestyle, the celebrities, the star players.”
“We try and bring that kind of take on what’s going on. Of course we can talk relatively intelligently about all the stuff that goes on on the pitch, but we love the stuff that goes on around it,” Vila adds.
The extensive World Cup coverage is just one of the many ways that Fusion, still finding its footing among a crowded cable landscape, can set itself apart.
“Cable news in general is way too politics-heavy for my taste,” Vila says. “MSNBC and Fox News are almost politics exclusive. Adding sports and culture would be probably a good choice.”