PARTNERSHIPS | COMMUNITY | PODCAST | FRIENDS
FIFA Readies For A World Cup Bidding War
The soccer signal // Image by Kait Cunniff with DALL-E
The bidding process for the next two men’s World Cups is already underway and could command a blockbuster price tag… even though neither tournament will be hosted in this hemisphere.
Why It Scores: The World Cup has been a runaway success for Fox, Telemundo, and Peacock. The recent US-Belgium match became the most-watched US game ever, averaging nearly 48 million viewers, and even matches without the US drew audiences in the tens of millions. That’s the kind of engagement broadcasters and streamers pay billions of dollars for… and may have to pay even more for this time around.
Between The Lines: The 2026 World Cup may still be underway, but media companies are already game-planning for the 2030 tournament (to be hosted by Spain, Portugal, and Morocco) and the 2034 tournament (to be hosted by Saudi Arabia).
Bidding for the US broadcast rights is expected to kick off within the next three months and will likely combine the English- and Spanish-language rights into a single package.
That could put the starting price between $1.5 billion and $2 billion — a major jump from 2011, when Fox paid $485 million for the English-language rights and Telemundo paid $600 million for the Spanish-language rights.
By combining the rights, FIFA can avoid complaints that airing the same match in two different languages cannibalizes viewers across competing services.
Fox hasn’t been too happy about how many English-speaking Americans are tuning into the Spanish-language broadcast on Peacock… or the fact that Telemundo signed non-Latino actor Owen Wilson as its World Cup spokesperson (objectively hilarious).
Final Pitch: So, who’s lining up for the media competition? Disney, YouTube, and Netflix (which already holds the rights to next year’s Women’s World Cup) have all been confirmed as interested in bidding against Fox, according to CNBC. Apple (which owns the global MLS rights) and Amazon (which broadcasts the UEFA Champions League in the UK) may also enter the fray. The one company reportedly sitting this one out is NBCUniversal, owner of Telemundo, as it’s in the middle of a company split.
Let’s see who scores.
Prediction: Considering how crucial creators have become to World Cup coverage, expect YouTube to make a major push for the rights… potentially positioning the platform as the company’s flagship sports offering.
Together with Kalshi
Think You Know The World Cup? Prove It
Everyone likes to say, “I knew it,” after the final whistle blows.
Kalshi rewards those brave enough to make the call before the game ends. The live prediction market gives you front-row access to trading on sports, culture, politics, and more, including:
Who will win the World Cup? ($810M+)
Messi or Mbappé: Who will win the Golden Boot? ($10M+)
Europe or South America: Which continent will win the World Cup? ($3.5M+)
Ready to get off the bench and into the game?
PARTNERSHIPS | COMMUNITY | PODCAST | FRIENDS
Today’s email was written by David Vendrell.
Edited by Nick Comney. Polled and Copy-edited by Kait Cunniff.
Published by Darline Salazar.