FIFA Opens World Cup Bidding For 2030 With Netflix, YouTube Among Suitors – Deadline

After a record-setting World Cup last summer, FIFA has officially opened the bidding for U.S. rights to the 2030 edition of the men’s soccer tournament. The auction will also include a potential option for 2034, according to press reports Thursday. Thanks in large part to an expanded field and a base in ratings-friendly North America, last summer’s Cup drew huge audiences on Fox and Telemundo in the U.S. Fox and Telemundo parent NBCUniversal are said to be interested in a renewal, but streaming giants Netflix, YouTube, Apple and Amazon Prime Video are also widely reported to be taking a close look. Netflix chief content officer Bela Bajaria, who was let go this week amid a major exec shakeup, affirmed the company’s interest in bidding. The company already took a big step in that direction by locking up the next two Women’s World Cups as part of a push into live events and sports. Watch on Deadline “We have a great relationship with [FIFA] because we have the Women’s World Cup and [we’re] having those conversations,” Bajaria said at a Financial Times conference in L.A. “We’re always going to be in the conversation with the leagues.” Multiple press reports in recent
Read More