FIFA World Cup rights set to attract streaming battle

FIFA’s next US media rights process is expected to attract interest from Netflix, Disney and YouTube as the governing body looks to capitalise on record demand for World Cup coverage.The rights are expected to cover the 2030 and 2034 men’s World Cups, creating a high-value package after the 2026 tournament delivered major audience growth in the United States.The process could value the next US package at around US$2bn, significantly above the existing cycle held by Fox and Telemundo.Fox holds the English-language rights to the 2026 World Cup, while NBCUniversal’s Telemundo owns the Spanish-language package.FIFA awarded those rights in 2015 as an extension covering the 2026 tournament, after the 2022 World Cup was moved from summer to November and December.The next cycle is expected to be more competitive because FIFA can return to the market after a 2026 event that has benefited from North American hosting, expanded inventory and stronger US audience figures.FIFA is considering selling English and Spanish-language rights together, a structure that could increase the value of the package and attract a wider group of bidders.Bundling both language packages would give one rights holder or consortium control over the full US audience strategy across linear, streaming and digital platforms.That would be a significant change from the current split between Fox and Telemundo.Netflix is expected to be among the interested parties after moving deeper into live sport and acquiring US rights to the 2027 and 2031 FIFA Women’s World Cups.That agreement gave Netflix a long-term relationship with FIFA and a platform to build football credibility before the men’s World Cup rights return to market.Disney would bring ESPN, ABC and Disney+ into the discussion, potentially combining free-to-air reach, pay-TV distribution and streaming.YouTube’s interest would reflect its growing role as both a distribution platform and direct sports rights participant, particularly after FIFA’s digital partnerships around the 2026 tournament.Amazon and Apple could also be relevant to the process if FIFA seeks maximum competition from global technology platforms.The 2030 World Cup will be staged across Spain, Portugal and Morocco, with opening matches in Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay.The 2034 tournament will be hosted by Saudi Arabia.Time zones will be an important part of the rights valuation, with the 2030 tournament less favourable for US prime-time viewing than the 2026 edition.The 2034 tournament could present an even greater scheduling challenge for US broadcasters because of the Saudi time zone.Those factors may temper valuations, but the World Cup remains one of the few sports properties capable of delivering mass live audiences across multiple platforms.The 2026 tournament has strengthened FIFA’s negotiating position by showing the scale of US demand when the event is placed in a more favourable time zone and supported by host-nation interest.Fox and Telemundo have both benefited from strong viewing figures, while streaming consumption has increased across Spanish-language coverage and digital platforms.The rights process will test whether FIFA can convert that momentum into a major uplift despite the less favourable timing of future tournaments.It will also show how far streamers are prepared to go for premium global sports rights that require large-scale live production, multilingual coverage, advertising sales and distribution reliability.FIFA is expected to begin discussions with interested parties in the coming months as it looks to set the market for the next two men’s World Cup cycles.