Netflix has landed the exclusive U.S. broadcast rights for the FIFA Women’s World Cup in 2027 and 2031, which indicates the first time that the tournament is going to appear on a streaming service. The broadcast agreement covers all languages and will include a dual telecast for English and Spanish-language broadcasts airing in the United States. The 2027 iteration of the FIFA Women’s World Cup will feature 32 teams from around the globe and take place in Brazil from June 24 to July 25.
Netflix plans to air studio shows featuring top-tier talent that will supplement its coverage with a blend of commentary and entertainment. The company explained that its deal will ensure that fans in the United States will “have unparalleled access to every match live.” Netflix is also going to produce exclusive documentary programming that will lead up to the tournament, highlighting the top players and their journeys, along with the growth of women’s football as a whole.
“Our record-breaking success with Amanda Serrano vs. Katie Taylor demonstrated the massive appetite for women’s sports and live programming,” Bela Bajaria, chief content officer at Netflix, said in a statement. “I’ve seen the fandom for the FIFA Women’s World Cup grow tremendously — from the electric atmosphere in France in 2019, and most recently, the incredible energy across Australia and New Zealand in 2023. Bringing this iconic tournament to Netflix is not just about streaming matches — it’s about celebrating the players, the culture, and the passion driving the global rise of women’s sports.”
Over the last several months, Netflix has secured media rights deals to expand its coverage of live sports. The platform will air a doubleheader of NFL Christmas Day games as part of a three-year deal with the league commencing this season. Moreover, the platform agreed to a groundbreaking 10-year deal reportedly worth $5 billion that grants it the rights to WWE Raw, set to make its debut on the service in early January. Netflix also had a historic presentation of a boxing card featuring matches of Katie Taylor against Amanda Serrano and Jake Paul against Mike Tyson.
“This is a landmark moment for sports media rights,” Gianni Infantino, president of FIFA, 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. Besides broadcasting the tournaments themselves, Netflix will play a key role in terms of bringing the fascination of women’s football to a multimillion audience in the lead-up to both final tournaments, thereby enabling us to further increase their appeal.”
This round of negotiations marked the first time that rights for the FIFA Women’s World Cup were sold separately from the men’s iteration of the tournament. FOX Sports has held the English broadcasting rights for the competition since 2015 and still currently has the rights for the men’s tournament. The final matchup of the 2023 tournament between Spain and England drew an average of 1.66 million viewers, marking the most-watched championship game of the FIFA Women’s World Cup in English language television history excluding the U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team.
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