Netflix wants in on men's World Cup TV rights
Netflix wants a seat at the table for the men's soccer World Cup.
Executive Bela Bajaria said the streamer wants to be in the conversation for the rights, speaking at the FT's Business of Entertainment conference. Her comments were reported by Deadline on 24 September.
Bajaria said Netflix has a great relationship with FIFA because it already holds the Women's World Cup and is having conversations about further rights. She said Netflix wants sporting events that feel "eventy", with the World Cup as the example.
That existing deal covers the United States and Canada. Netflix holds the broadcast rights, meaning it is the home for the matches in those countries, for the 2027 and 2031 FIFA Women's World Cups.
Every match of the 2027 tournament will stream live on Netflix in the US and Canada, according to Netflix. The tournament will be held in Brazil and begins on 24 June 2027. Fox showed each Women's World Cup before Netflix succeeded it for the 2027 and 2031 US rights.
The men's rights for the next decade are the prize now coming into view. FIFA has held preliminary talks over the US rights to the 2030 and 2034 men's tournaments. Disney, YouTube and Fox have also shown interest.
Fox aired the men's World Cup tournament held in the United States. NBCUniversal's Telemundo held the Spanish-language rights to that tournament.
There is a long lead time for any deal. The next men's tournament, FIFA World Cup 26, will be hosted by Canada, Mexico and the USA, according to FIFA. The 2030 edition will be jointly held in Morocco, Portugal and Spain, with extra games in Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay to mark 100 years of the tournament. The 2034 edition will be held in Saudi Arabia.
Rights are sold country by country, or region by region. In Britain, BBC Sport and ITV have agreed a deal for live coverage of the FIFA World Cup. FIFA has also run an invitation to tender, a formal bidding process, for World Cup 26 and World Cup 2030 media rights in several European nations.
For fans, this means no change yet. This is interest, not a deal.
What makes this stand out is how personal Bajaria made it sound. She grew up in North London, not far from Wembley. That stadium was the site of England's last World Cup success in 1966.
