November 5 – FIFA has announced a standalone tender in the United States for the broadcast rights to the 2027 Women’s World Cup that Brazil will stage.
On its website, the world federation set a deadline for submission of bids for December 3. The tender also extends to Puerto Rico. The US will be one of the favourites for 2027.
“This represents the first time that the FIFA Women’s World Cup will be sold in the USA on a standalone basis. The tender process is primarily focused on the 2027 edition. However, interested parties are invited to submit an additional offer for the rights to the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2031 (host to be confirmed),” said FIFA.
The US pulled out of the bid for hosting 2027 saying they would instead focus in bidding for 2031.
In the United States, Fox and Telemundo have held the rights to both the men’s and the women’s World Cup in English and Spanish since the 2015 Women’s World Cup in Canada. The broadcasters’ rights deal expires after the 2026 men’s World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
The United States and Mexico withdrew from the bidding race for the 2027 Women’s World Cup, which Brazil landed by defeating a European bid in a FIFA Congress vote. However, US Soccer said that they may seek to host the 2031 finals, which would render the 2031 media rights valuable for domestic broadcasters.
Last year, Australia and New Zealand staged the Women’s World Cup, but US audiences were down because of the unfavourable time zones and the early exit of the US team. The tournament’s final averaged 2.21 million viewers across Fox, Telemundo, Universo and Peacock, a drop in viewership of 75% from the 2019 final in France.
FIFA is unbundling the rights to the men’s and the women’s World Cup in a bid to generate more revenue and develop the women’s game. In the lead-up to the 2023 Women’s World Cup, FIFA president Gianni Infantino threatened a blackout in major European nations because broadcasters, in his view, were not paying enough for the rights.
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