By Jacob Feldman
Sports Business Reporter
Netflix has acquired the U.S. media rights to the 2027 and 2031 installments of the Women’s World Cup, FIFA announced Friday.
The streaming service will make all matches available live and offer a studio show as well as an exclusive documentary series on the women’s game leading up to both tournaments. The 2027 event will be in Brazil while bidding remains open for the 2031 World Cup, with the U.S. being one potential host. Financial terms were not announced.
“I’ve seen the fandom for the FIFA Women’s World Cup grow tremendously, from the electric atmosphere in France in 2019 to, most recently, the incredible energy we saw across Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand last year,” Netflix chief content officer Bela Bajaria said in a statement. “Bringing this iconic tournament to Netflix isn’t just about streaming matches, it’s also about celebrating the players, the culture and the passion driving the global rise of women’s sport.”
Netflix has been expanding its live sports programming this year, with Christmas Day NFL games coming next week and WWE’s Monday Night Raw series moving there in January. Netflix claimed 60 million households worldwide watched its Jake Paul-Mike Tyson boxing match in November.
The deal represents FIFA’s biggest tie-up with a streaming service for a major tournament. Fox aired the 2023 competition, which Spain won. Netflix released a docuseries following the U.S. Women’s National Team in December 2023.
The agreement covers all languages, with Netflix planning Spanish-language broadcasts as well as English coverage.
“This is a landmark moment for sports media rights,” FIFA president Gianni Infantino said in a statement. “As a marquee brand and FIFA’s new long-term partner, Netflix has shown a very strong level of commitment to growing women’s football. This agreement sends a strong message about the real value of the FIFA Women’s World Cup and the global women’s game. FIFA and Netflix partnering together makes this a truly historic day for broadcasting and for women’s football.”
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