Fox likely to face competition for future World Cup rights

Fox has been the exclusive U.S. broadcaster for both the FIFA men’s and women’s World Cups since 2015, but competition from other networks is likely coming in the near future.

Puck’s John Ourand reports in his bi-weekly newsletter that Fox will “almost certainly face competition from ESPN and NBC,” for World Cup rights starting with the 2027 Women’s World Cup. Ourand also mentioned Paramount as a possible bidder, should they clear the regulatory hurdles associated with Skydance’s acquisition of the company. The final World Cup left on Fox’s current deal is the 2026 men’s tournament jointly hosted by the United States, Canada, and Mexico.

Per the report, media executives anticipate FIFA will begin accepting bids to the 2027 Women’s World Cup hosted by Brazil in the early parts of 2025. The tournament will certainly garner interest from rights buyers stateside given the popularity of the United States Women’s National Team, and the favorable time zones that come with a tournament being played in the Western Hemisphere.

Prior to Fox’s acquisition of World Cup rights, ESPN had aired each men’s edition of the quadrennial tournament since 1994, the last time the United States hosted the event.

The history of Fox’s relationship with FIFA and the subsequent awarding of more than a decade of World Cup rights is long, convoluted, and involves a laundry list of shady business practices and corruption that has resulted in at least one former Fox executive’s conviction. The network was controversially awarded a no-bid contract for the upcoming 2026 World Cup after the 2022 tournament in Qatar had to be moved to the winter to avoid the intense summer heat.

Ourand anticipates that Fox will try to retain the rights on account of its linear-first strategy requiring “a heavy diet of live sports for sustenance.” However, the other networks will all have their own individual streaming services to program by the time 2027 rolls around; ESPN with its “Flagship,” NBC with Peacock, and CBS with Paramount+.

Perhaps, given the timeline cited for these negotiations by media executives, FIFA will attempt to bundle its 2025 Club World Cup media rights with the 2027 Women’s World Cup. FIFA has struggled to find a buyer for the 2025 tournament since opening up bidding earlier this year.

With most major live sports properties locked into rights deals for at least the next several years, the 2027 Women’s World Cup is possibly the most attractive programming left on the menu. For the networks, securing a deal for this tournament would certainly open the door to striking a deal for the 2030 Men’s World Cup as well.

[Puck]