Netflix, Disney show interest in FIFA rights

Several media companies, including Netflix, Disney and Aphabet's YouTube are gearing up to pay billions for the FIFA World Cup boradcasting rights for the next two men’s tournaments, according to a CNBC report.As the football world tournament captures massive global audiences, the media giants are now interested in challenging Fox for the American broadcast rights to the 2030 and 2034 World Cup, people familiar with the matter told CNBC.

Alongside the three, Amazon and Apple could also enter the mix, further amplifying a potential bidding war for the rights.Amazon currently owns UEFA Champions League rights in the UK and Apple owns global MLS rights.Also read: Cristiano Ronaldo says it again: His 6th FIFA World Cup with Portugal will be his lastAccording to the report, executives at numerous media companies are budgeting between $1.5 billion and $2 billion for the US rights for each tournament across languages.

FIFA negotiated the last deal with Fox and Telemundo in 2011.

Four years later, the football organisation extended that deal through 2026.Discussions between FIFA and potential media partners are expected to begin sometime in the next three months, sourcs told CNBC.During preliminary talks which began earlier this year, FIFA has alerted media companies that English- and Spanish-language US rights are likely to be sold together, rather than separately as they have been for previous World Cups, including 2026.Citing The Atheletic, the report stated that Fox paid $485 million for the English-language rights for this year’s tournament, hosted across North American cities, while sources told the media outlet that NBCUniversal’s Telemundo had paid $600 million for the Spanish-language rights.Netflix, Disney and YouTube view the FIFA World Cup as a potential major boost for their streaming services, the people cited above said, adding that Disney could also air games on ESPN and ABC, which could be appealing to FIFA as the broadcast on Fox has seen strong ratings this year.FIFA has already shown interest in Netflix by awarding the broadcasting rights of the Women’s World Cup in 2027 and 2031.Also read: FIFA World Cup: England beats Mexico, winning 3-2 to reach quarterfinalsWhy would FIFA sell English-Spanish rights as single package?Packaging the language rights for English and Spanish could help FIFA in eliminating some tensions between rival media companies airing the same games while garnering a higher price, driving up bids from eager media partners looking for big ratings.The report said that the combined TV audiences for U.S. games in recent weeks have rivaled NFL playoff games.In 2026, Telemundo bought only the Spanish-language rights, though it has claimed some unknown population of English speakers were watching games in the US via the Peacock streaming service, dampening Fox’s World Cup reach.Telemundo has also signed actor Owen Wilson, who is not Latino or known for speaking Spanish, as a spokesperson for the Spanish-language coverage of the FIFA World Cup.

This is a step to blur the lines for an American audience that speaks both English and Spanish.If English and Spanish language FIFA games are sold together, NBCUniversal may not compete for the rights at a price nearing $2 billion, sources told CNBC, removing Telemundo as a future partner. ...