FIFA Opens Bidding for 2030 World Cup U.S. Rights, Wants English and Spanish Sold Together

FIFA launched its invitation to tender today, Oct. 22, for U.S. and Puerto Rico media rights to the 2030 men's World Cup. Bidders can also make an offer for the 2034 tournament in Saudi Arabia.

Proposals are due Nov. 19 at noon ET. FIFA plans to choose a winner by the end of the year.

What FIFA is asking for

FIFA wants one partner to hold both the English-language and Spanish-language rights. That breaks with the 2026 setup, when Fox had English and NBCUniversal's Telemundo had Spanish.

That split caused friction. Peacock carried the Spanish-language coverage at a lower price than Fox One charged for the English-language stream.

Romy Gai, FIFA's chief business officer, said the organization is open to a single buyer for the full package or to a joint bid, such as a streamer paired with a traditional broadcaster. "We want to be flexible," Gai said. "We expect a big number of participants, both from the linear side and from the streamer side."

After bids close, FIFA plans in-person meetings with U.S. media companies at the end of November. It can then narrow the field and ask for final offers, or pick a winner outright.

If a streaming service wins, FIFA says it will make sure a certain number of matches are free, either through sublicensing or a free tier of the service.

FIFA Secretary General Mattias Grafström said in a statement that FIFA is looking for "a partner who shares our commitment to innovation, who can bring every moment of the action to fans wherever and however they choose to watch."

The money

Fox paid an estimated $485 million for the 2026 tournament. That was a no-bid extension at a steep discount, granted after the Qatar World Cup was pushed into the fall and collided with Fox's NFL and college football schedule. Fox originally won the English-language rights in 2011 with a $425 million bid covering two cycles. NBCU is estimated to have paid $600 million for Telemundo's Spanish rights.

FIFA has not run a competitive U.S. sale for the men's World Cup since 2011. Gai told Variety the organization expects to take in more this time, citing the rising value of sports to media companies and the long gap since the rights were last open.

In July, CNBC reported that YouTube, Netflix, Amazon and Disney were all interested. Some media executives told CNBC then that the rights could fetch $1.5 billion to $2 billion. Gai said it is too early to say what price is realistic.

The 2026 numbers behind the pitch

The summer tournament, played across the U.S., Canada and Mexico, set U.S. viewing records. Matches on Fox averaged 13.5 million viewers, up 166% from 2022, according to CNBC's figures.

The July 19 final between Spain and Argentina averaged 38.94 million viewers on Fox, per Nielsen figures reported by Sportico. Adding Telemundo and streaming, Sportico put the total U.S. audience at about 66.42 million. The U.S. team's 4-1 round-of-16 loss to Belgium drew 33.09 million on Fox alone.

The time zone problem

That audience came with a home-field advantage. The 2030 matches will be in Spain, Portugal and Morocco. A final in Madrid would kick off six hours ahead of New York and nine hours ahead of the West Coast, per Sportico's math. Riyadh, the 2034 host, is seven hours ahead of New York.

The Hollywood Reporter wrote that the unfavorable time zones "almost guarantee lower viewership for at least the next couple World Cups." Gai pushed back. "I'm sure that we will have every day matches that will be available in the right time zone for the U.S.," he said. "We expect it to have an impact on the bidding, but not as big as you think."

Who is in the mix

Fox is expected to bid, and so is NBCUniversal. A Telemundo executive told Sports Business Journal this summer that NBC is "beyond exploring" a combined English-and-Spanish package. NBC and Telemundo already run a similar joint arrangement for the Olympics.

Telemundo also holds U.S. Spanish-language rights to the Premier League, Bundesliga, Serie A and U.S. national team matches, and gets the UEFA Champions League starting next year. Fox's Spanish-language outlet is Fox Deportes.

Disney's ESPN has been open about wanting the tournament back. ESPN chairman Jimmy Pitaro said recently that Disney is "of course" interested in the rights ABC held for 20 years before Fox.

Netflix is also positioned. It holds the 2030 World Cup rights in Spain and Andorra, plus U.S. rights to the 2027 and 2031 Women's World Cups. Amazon and YouTube were named in July as interested parties.

What comes next

Bids are due Nov. 19 at noon ET, and in-person meetings with U.S. media companies follow in late November. FIFA has said it will announce a winner by year-end.

The open question is price. Executives have floated $1.5 billion to $2 billion, roughly three to four times what Fox paid for 2026. FIFA's own bet is that last summer's ratings outweigh a bad time zone, and bidders will have to decide whether they agree.