NBC reportedly eyeing English-language World Cup rights

[ASFN Admin]

You must be registered for see images attach

Syndication: The Record

We’re about midway through the current World Cup, but much of the media discussion has already shifted focus to 2030, when the next World Cup is scheduled to take place.

That’s because FIFA have yet to open the bidding process for U.S. broadcast rights to the 2030 World Cup. That process, according to a recent Puck interview with Fox Sports CEO Eric Shanks, is likely to begin in the next six to eight months as FIFA try to capitalize on the afterglow of a wildly successful home tournament.

The 2030 tournament, set to be held primarily in Spain, Portugal, and Morocco, is expected to yield a much higher rights fee than the reported $485 million Fox is paying to air this edition, a favorable price awarded on the basis of a no-bid contract due to the 2022 World Cup in Qatar being moved to November and December.

Given the ratings success of this year’s tournament (and perhaps the commercial value of FIFA’s new hydration breaks), the market for 2030 World Cup rights is expected to be robust. And now, we know at least one broadcaster has already had conversations with FIFA about obtaining English-language rights in the United States.

According to a report by Austin Karp in Sports Business Journal, NBC has “had conversations already” with FIFA about securing both English and Spanish-language broadcast rights to the 2030 World Cup. NBC-owned Telemundo is the current Spanish-language broadcaster for the event, and similarly has its contract expire following the conclusion of the 2026 tournament.

Telemundo sports and streaming executive Joaquin Duro tells Sports Business Journal that the dual-language approach is “definitely something that [NBCUniversal is] beyond exploring.”

NBC will be far from the only media company eyeing World Cup rights in 2030. Fox, the incumbent English-language partner, will also be in the mix. Streamers like Netflix, which already owns rights to the 2027 and 2031 Women’s World Cups, Prime Video, Apple TV, and others could also take a look. Not to mention, ESPN could look to get back in the game after losing rights following the 2014 edition.

For NBC, earning those rights could be an uphill battle amid uncertainty related to Comcast’s planned spinoff of NBCUniversal. The NFL’s efforts to renegotiate its broadcast deals at higher rates only add to that uncertainty.

Nevertheless, it seems the network has already engaged FIFA about the possibility, which at least puts it firmly in the picture for now.

The post NBC reportedly eyeing English-language World Cup rights appeared first on Awful Announcing.

Continue reading...