The next battle for the FIFA World Cup is not on any soccer pitch. It is in the boardrooms of the biggest media companies in the United States, and the price of entry could reach $2 billion.
Netflix, Disney, and Alphabet's YouTube are all interested in challenging Fox for the U.S. broadcast rights to the 2030 and 2034 men's World Cup tournaments, according to CNBC, which cited people familiar with the matter. Amazon and Apple could also enter the bidding, according to those same sources, who asked not to be named because the talks are private.
Formal discussions between FIFA and potential media partners are expected to begin sometime in the next three months. Executives at various media companies are currently budgeting between $1.5 billion and $2 billion for the rights to each tournament, the sources said.
That is a significant jump from what the current rights cost. Fox paid $485 million for the English-language rights for the 2026 tournament, which is being hosted across North American cities, according to The Athletic. NBCUniversal's Telemundo paid $600 million for the Spanish-language rights, according to people familiar with the matter. The last time FIFA negotiated those deals was in 2011, with an extension through 2026 added four years later.
One major change FIFA is planning for the next round of negotiations is selling the English- and Spanish-language rights as a single package, rather than separately as they have been in the past. According to CNBC's sources, FIFA has already alerted media companies to this approach during preliminary talks that began earlier this year. Bundling the rights could help FIFA drive up the overall price, and it could also reduce friction between rival broadcasters airing the same games in different languages.
That friction has been visible during the current tournament. Telemundo, which holds only the Spanish-language rights through 2026, has made some of those games available on the Peacock streaming service, which charges $10.99 per month. Fox's own streaming service, Fox One, costs $19.99 per month. The overlap has complicated Fox's ability to claim the full U.S. audience.
The scale of that audience is part of what is driving the competition. Combined TV viewership for U.S. games in recent weeks has rivaled NFL playoff numbers, according to CNBC. Netflix, Disney, and YouTube all see the World Cup as a potential major boost for their streaming platforms. Disney could also put games on ESPN and ABC, which would give FIFA strong over-the-air reach similar to what Fox has delivered this year.
FIFA has already shown some openness to streaming platforms. It awarded Netflix the rights to the 2027 and 2031 Women's World Cup. Spokespeople for FIFA, Netflix, YouTube, and Disney all declined to comment on the current negotiations.
