John Kosner Spoke With Rachel Bachman of The Wall Street Journal About Future World Cup TV Rights

Original Article: The Wall Street Journal, by Rachel Bachman, July 20th, 2026

FIFA Races to Cash In on Its Hit Tournament

Soccer’s governing body plans to open bidding on media rights for the 2030 and 2034 World Cups but faces headwinds

Now that FIFA wrapped up the most popular World Cup ever on Sunday, soccer’s governing body is already eyeing its next target: cashing in on media rights for the 2030 and 2034 tournaments.

Fox and Telemundo scored a ratings and revenue bonanza this summer with the English- and Spanish-language U.S. rights, respectively.

But FIFA faces headwinds that could complicate its ambitions for a repeat, including the fact that the next two World Cups are in Europe and the Middle East with far less favorable game times for U.S. audiences. The media companies likely to bid on coming U.S. rights also already have tens of billions of dollars locked in for other sports—with potential increases on the horizon.

U.S. rights to the 2030 and 2034 World Cup tournaments could fetch a total of as much as $4 billion, some executives have said. Fox paid roughly $485 million and NBCUniversal’s Telemundo, $600 million, for the current rights package, which included the 2023 women’s and 2026 men’s World Cups.

Others tracking sports-rights deals counter that such a price tag is wishful thinking, even double the likely cost. The final price will show whether Americans’ growing love of soccer can overcome the market realities of the sports-rights landscape.

FIFA planned to go to market for U.S. rights soon after the tournament ended, according to a person familiar with the group’s thinking. It aims to sell the U.S. rights to 2030 and 2034 as a bundle and is open to selling the Spanish- and English-language rights to the same buyer, the person said.

Disney’s ESPN, Google’s YouTube, Netflix and Amazon Prime Video, as well as Fox and Telemundo, are expected to take a hard look at the coming tournaments, according to people familiar with the matter. FIFA already has had discussions with several major industry players, according to the person familiar with the group’s thinking.

Sports remain a strong tool for attracting viewers—and, in turn, advertisers—in a fragmented media landscape.

Netflix has increasingly turned to sports as a way to engage audiences and reduce customer defections. Netflix has already acquired U.S. rights for the 2027 and 2031 Women’s World Cups, paying a total of about $300 million for both events, according to people familiar with the matter.

There is broad agreement among analysts and sports executives that Fox and Telemundo secured the rights to this year’s tournament at below-market prices. After FIFA scheduled the 2022 World Cup in Qatar for November and December, displeasing both broadcasters, it awarded them the 2026 rights without a competitive bidding process—a move seen as an effort to make up for the less attractive 2022 tournament.

U.S. viewership of this World Cup has smashed prior records. More than 50 million viewers tuned into the English- and Spanish-language broadcasts when the U.S. lost 4-1 to Belgium in the round of 16, according to data from Nielsen, and more than 28 million watched Argentina beat England in their semifinal game.

“The World Cup has gotten into the cultural zeitgeist in our country, and it’s become a must-have property,” said John Kosner, a consultant and former ESPN executive.

American children now sport the jerseys of Argentine forward Lionel Messi, who plays for Major League Soccer’s Inter Miami, and French superstar Kylian Mbappé, and U.S. viewers tune in regularly to English Premier League games on weekend mornings.

Given that backdrop and the latest World Cup performance, “I don’t think that $2 billion is necessarily a crazy number,” Kosner said.

ESPN, Fox, NBCUniversal and Amazon.com will have to balance spending on soccer rights against other existing commitments to the National Football League, National Basketball Association and other major sports properties. The NFL is expected to seek an early increase in its fees, further squeezing media companies’ budgets.

“There’s a lot of math to be done,” said veteran media executive Jon Miller, chief executive of investment firm Integrated Media. Several potential buyers “have to keep a lot of powder dry for the NFL,” he added.

Fox and The Wall Street Journal parent News Corp share common ownership.

The 2030 World Cup will be hosted by Spain, Portugal and Morocco, with games that could begin in the morning for U.S. audiences—not the best window for blockbuster ratings.

The tournament moves to Saudi Arabia for 2034 and is expected to be played during the winter to avoid extreme heat, putting it in competition with the NFL, college football and the NBA for viewers and advertisers.

Still, future World Cups could see increased commercial value if FIFA continues with its recently introduced hydration breaks, three-minute pauses where broadcasters can air midgame commercials.

And further expansion of the tournament may help as well, by providing hours more content. This past World Cup was the biggest ever at 48 teams, and FIFA is considering expanding to 64.