Benzinga - by Chris Katje, Benzinga Staff Writer.
The 2024 Copa América tournament kicks off June 20 with 16 countries from North America and South America competing to win a key international trophy in what could be the last major international competition for soccer superstar Lionel Messi.
How to Watch 2024 Copa América: Fox Corp (NASDAQ:FOX)(NASDAQ:FOXA) has a busy summer of soccer coverage, as the media partner of the 2024 Copa América and the Euro 2024 tournament simultaneously.
The 2024 Copa América games, which happen every four years, will air on Fox, FS1 and FS2 with coverage going from June 20 through the championship game on July 14. Argentina and Canada kick off the 2024 Copa América with the game airing on FS1 and FS2, units of Fox.
Spanish language coverage of the games will happen with TUDN and Univision, partially owned by Grupo Televisa (NYSE:TV).
The U.S., which is hosting the tournament, has three games in the group stage, which are as follows:
U.S. vs. Bolivia: Sunday, June 23, 6 p.m. ET, FOX
Panama vs. U.S.: Thursday, June 27, 6 p.m. ET, FOX
U.S. vs. Uruguay: Monday, July 1, 9 p.m. ET, FS1
Related Link: The Messi Effect: Sportsbook Says Betting On Inter Miami, Major League Soccer ‘Exponentially Massive’ In 2023
What to Know: The tournament features 16 teams with four groups of four teams each. Teams earn three points for a win and one point for a draw and play three games against their other group teams during the group stage. The top two teams from each group will move on to the elimination rounds.
Here are the groups for the 2024 Copa América and their current FIFA world ranking:
Group A: Argentina (1), Peru (31), Chile (40), Canada (48)
Group B: Mexico (15), Ecuador (30), Venezuela (54), Jamaica (53)
Group C: U.S. (11), Uruguay (14), Panama (43), Bolivia (84)
Group D: Brazil (4), Colombia (12), Paraguay (58), Costa Rica (52)
The winner of Group A will play the runner-up of Group B, the winner of Group B will play the runner-up of Group A, the winner of Group C will play the runner-up of Group D and the winner of Group D will play the runner-up of Group C.
Argentina is the betting favorite and the reigning champion of the tournament. Argentina is also the defending World Cup champion, helping to secure the number one ranking in the world. The team features global superstar Lionel Messi, who could be playing in his last international tournament for Argentina.
Messi scored four goals in the 2020 Copa América and was named the best player of the tournament. Messi scored seven goals in the 2022 World Cup, ranking second among all players during the tournament.
Betting Odds: The 2024 Copa América features only two of the top 10 ranked teams in the world based on FIFA rankings and they are the favorites to win the tournament.
Here are the current betting odds to win 2024 Copa América from DraftKings Inc (NASDAQ:DKNG):
Argentina: +175
Brazil: +225
Uruguay: +500
Colombia: +1,000
U.S.: +1,200
Mexico: +1,400
Ecuador: +1,400
Argentina and Brazil being heavy favorites could provide more value on teams like Uruguay and Colombia for bettors, but the teams could also face off in the first elimination game based on their group placements.
The winner of Group B, for which Mexico is a slight favorite (+110), could have an easier path, playing the runner-up of Group A and avoiding Argentina or Brazil until later in the tournament.
Messi ranks as the favorite to be the top goalscorer during the tournament with odds of +330. Darwin Nunez (Uruguay) and Vinicius Junior (Brazil) follow closely behind at odds of +450 each. Colombia's Luis Diaz is listed at +3,500 and could be an interesting pick if the team advances deep into the tournament.
Fans of the U.S. Soccer team will find Christian Pulisic with odds of +4,000 to be the tournament's top goalscorer.
DraftKings also has several Team USA-specific props, including what stage of the tournament they will be eliminated in and an over/under of 7.5 goals in the tournament. A special prop bet is if Team USA will qualify from Group C without conceding a goal in the three games, with odds of +1,200.
Stocks to Watch: Fox could be the big winner from its soccer coverage during the summer. The media company will air Euro games during the day and Copa América games at night, a potentially perfect combination to get the best from its exclusive coverage.
Grupo Televisa, a key owner of Univision, could also benefit from the Spanish-language rights to the tournament with several Spanish-speaking countries taking part in the country and soccer remaining incredibly popular with the Spanish-language-speaking population of the U.S.
Univision's TUDN had over three million viewers for the 2020 Copa América final, up double digits from the previous tournament. The media unit averaged 1.8 million total viewers for the final eight matches in the tournament and had an average of 1.1 million total viewers for the 28 matches in the tournament.
A report from The Wrap highlighted the rise of political ads during the Copa América with the Biden-Harris 2024 election campaign spending seven figures on advertising during the tournament. The ad spend is being done in a push to Latino voters and could benefit Univision with its coverage.
"Our campaign knows the power of showing up to earn the Latino vote, and today's historic announcement to organize and mobilize around Copa América is a perfect example of doing that important work," Biden-Harris 2024 Campaign Manager Julie Chavez Rodriguez said.
The Biden-Harris campaign will also sponsor local events during the Copa América tournament, including in key swing states of Arizona and Nevada, according to the report.
Another stock to watch is Anheuser-Busch InBev SA (NYSE:BUD), which is the official beer sponsor of the tournament. The company also has signed Messi as the company's brand ambassador.
Instead of promoting its struggling Bud Light brand, Anheuser-Busch InBev will use the tournament to promote its Michelob Ultra brand.
"I look forward to the energy the United States will bring to the competition and the memorable experiences and atmosphere Michelob Ultra will help create for football teams, players and fans alike," Messi previously said.
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Photo: 2024 Copa América
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