FIFA Opens Bidding for U.S. Rights to the 2030 World Cup
FIFA, football's world governing body, has opened bidding for the U.S. media rights to the 2030 World Cup. Companies have until midnight on November 19 to submit proposals. The rights also cover Puerto Rico, and Variety reported the launch on October 22.
Media rights are the permissions that let a broadcaster or streaming service show the matches. In practice, they decide which channel or app viewers will need to watch the games.
FIFA is not insisting on one kind of deal. It will consider separate contracts for traditional television (linear broadcasting, meaning the channel schedule) and for streaming. It will also look at packages that combine both. A single company could handle everything, or two or more companies could bid together.
Interested parties can also try to win rights to one additional future World Cup alongside the 2030 tournament. FIFA's chief business officer, Romy Gai, is named in the process.
The price could be high. Yahoo Sports reported in July that FIFA was preparing to seek as much as $4 billion for U.S. rights to the 2030 and 2034 World Cups. For comparison, Variety estimates that Fox paid $485 million for its World Cup rights, and that NBCU paid $600 million for Telemundo's.
FIFA's own figures are the case for the bidding. It says the most recent World Cup averaged 13.5 million viewers per match across linear and streaming platforms. That average covered 39 days and 104 matches, and it was up 166% from the 2022 tournament in Qatar. FIFA also says every U.S. men's national team match drew more than 20 million viewers. The final averaged 63 million, which FIFA describes as the most-watched soccer match in U.S. history.
The 2030 tournament is already spread across several countries. Morocco, Portugal and Spain were appointed as its hosts. Netflix secured the rights to show the tournament in Spain and Andorra, Reuters reported on October 13. FIFA is also studying whether to grow the 2030 edition from 48 teams to 64, according to a Reuters report from July 31.
For fans in the United States, nothing changes this week. Their games will stay on their current channels and apps. The November 19 deadline is for proposals only, and no buyer has been named yet. Once a winner is chosen, the deal will settle where the 2030 matches can be watched, and for how long.
