In a surprise move, FIFA has extended its soon-to-begin television deal with Fox Sports and Telemundo.
FIFA has agreed to a four-year media rights extension with Fox Sports and Telemundo that will keep World Cup soccer on the respective outlets through 2026. The extension covers both the 2023 Women’s World Cup and 2026 World Cup, as well as several other World Cup tournaments.
Fox Sports and Telemundo now own rights to the next six World Cup tournaments — 2015, 2018, 2019, 2022, 2023 and 2026 — keeping previous rightsholders ESPN and Univision out of the mix at least a dozen years. The World Cup is now locked up longer than any other major sports package outside of the Olympics (through 2032), expiring months after the College Football Playoff (January 2026) and a year after the NBA (June 2025).
Thursday’s news was unexpected. The existing contract was not set to expire for another seven years, and the debut telecasts are still months away.
This is the second time in a year that a major global event has agreed to an early extension. The IOC and NBC agreed to a 12-year extension of their Olympics television deal last May, six years before rights were set to expire.
(FIFA via Fang’s Bites)
