The next FIFA World Cup is years away — but one game is already afoot.
\n\nThe international governing body behind the popular global tournament is opening the bidding process for rights to the event for 2030 in the U.S. and Puerto Rico, and will offer an option for interesting parties to also try and secure rights for the 2034 championship as well, says Romy Gai, the group’s chief business officer, during a recent interview.
\n\n“The idea is to be extremely flexible, the executive tells Variety, in order to “try to get the best momentum after the great success we had during World Cup 2026.” Proposals are due by noon on November 19.
\n\nFox is estimated to have paid $485 million for its World Cup rights, while NBCU is estimated to have paid $600 million for Telemundo‘s. A FIFA spokesman declined to comment on the value of previous rights fees, but Gai said the organization expected to secure more in the next round of negotiations, owing to the growing value of sports to media companies and the fact that the rights have not come up for bid in a decade and a half. Fox Sports and Telemundo telecast the event in…
Original source: https://variety.com/v/tv/