A major battle over the broadcasting rights for the 2030 and 2034 FIFA World Cups is intensifying in the U.S., as streaming and media giants aim to unseat the current rights holder—Fox Corp (NASDAQ:FOX). According to a recent report from CNBC, Netflix Inc (NASDAQ:NFLX), Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS), and Google’s YouTube (NASDAQ:GOOGL) are actively weighing the possibility of bidding on this lucrative rights package.
FIFA and potential media partners are expected to begin negotiations within the next three months, setting the stage for record-breaking sums. According to sources familiar with the matter, media executives are budgeting between $1.5 billion and $2 billion for each tournament—far surpassing historical figures.
FIFA is further raising the stakes by signaling its intention to sell the U.S. rights for English and Spanish-language broadcasts as a single package. This approach is likely to push out traditional players, including Comcast Corp’s (NASDAQ:CMCSA) NBCUniversal, which is currently reassessing its financial position following its spin-off as a separate entity and is unlikely to compete at such a high price threshold.
The astronomical valuation of these rights persists despite the inconvenient time zones of the upcoming tournaments in North Africa, Europe, and Saudi Arabia. At the same time, the report notes that tech giants—Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ:AMZN) and Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL)—could also enter the fray, unburdened by traditional broadcasting constraints.
While streaming platforms view these rights as a key tool for subscriber acquisition, Wall Street is taking a wait-and-see approach given the massive capital expenditure—likely due to a lack of clear understanding of the outlook and short-term profit gains. Shares of Netflix, Disney, and Alphabet remained nearly unchanged following the news, as investors weigh the staggering $2 billion price tag against potential long-term advertising revenues.
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