FIFA has formally opened the U.S. rights process for the 2030 World Cup, with an option that could extend the winner into 2034. Proposals for the United States and Puerto Rico are due by midnight November 19.
The auction arrives with fresh leverage. Incumbent Fox is estimated to have paid about $485 million for its last World Cup package, while NBCUniversal paid roughly $600 million for Telemundo’s Spanish-language rights. FIFA chief business officer Romy Gai told Variety the federation wants to be “extremely flexible” and build on “the great success we had during World Cup 2026.”
The numbers behind the next bidding war
The 2026 tournament produced the kind of simultaneous audience that media buyers rarely see in streaming:
- 13.5 million average viewers per match across linear and streaming, up 166% from 2022.
- 20 million+ viewers for every U.S. men’s national team match.
- 63 million average viewers for the final, the most-watched soccer match in U.S. history.
- 14.6% Comcast’s Q3 U.S. ad revenue lift from World Cup telecasts; without the games, the company said growth would have been 0.3%.
FIFA expects the next round to top those rights fees. Sports have become more valuable to U.S. media companies, and the package hasn’t come up for bid in about a decade and a half.
FIFA is open to almost any structure
FIFA said it will consider separate linear and streaming deals, combined packages, single-buyer offers and joint bids. It prefers to keep English- and Spanish-language rights under one umbrella, but Gai said that condition “is not mandatory.”
That flexibility is aimed squarely at streamers. Gai said streamers “can deliver a bigger opportunity to get in touch with new audiences.” Netflix has already shown appetite for global soccer, taking U.S. rights to the 2027 and 2031 Women’s World Cup in both languages and streaming rights for the 2030 men’s tournament in Spain and Andorra.
Fox Sports CEO Eric Shanks earlier described the 2026 fan response as “more of a socio-cultural event than probably anyone could have imagined in their wildest dreams.” That is the mass, simultaneous audience advertisers cannot assemble anywhere else.
Time zones are the big caveat
The 2030 World Cup will be hosted by Morocco, Portugal and Spain, with centenary matches in Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay. Saudi Arabia will stage 2034. Many matches will therefore land outside U.S. prime time, a real risk for rights holders trying to sell against the 2026 ratings.
For media planners and bidders, the message is clear: live soccer proved its ad lift. FIFA is now using that proof to reset the price and the packaging of one of media’s last mass-reach properties.
Source: Variety
