Brazilian sports streaming platform, CazeTV, has secured the rights to broadcast the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup (CWC) through a sublicensing deal with international sports subscription service DAZN.
The deal will allow CazeTV to show at least 39 of the 63 matches live, including those involving Brazilian teams, semi-finals and final. The matches will be aired live on CazeTV’s YouTube channels and integrated streaming platforms such as Samsung TV Plus, Mercado Play, and Amazon Prime Video in Brazil.
Four Brazilian teams - Botafogo, Flamengo, Fluminense and Palmeiras - are set to participate in the tournament. This partnership is expected to provide an immersive experience for fans by offering extensive coverage of the tournament via its social media platforms.
Behind-the-scenes coverage & highlights
In addition to broadcasting games live, CazeTV will also provide behind-the-scenes content and game highlights produced by dedicated teams based in Brazil and the US. This move aims at enhancing fan engagement during this prestigious global football event.
Fabio Medeiros, head of content at CazeTV, said:
“Our audience has been eagerly awaiting this new tournament, so bringing this competition to our network aligns perfectly with CazéTV’s mission to bring the best of sport to fans, using a format and language that deeply connects with our audience.”
CazeTV's portfolio includes rights to several high-profile tournaments such as the 2022 World Cup in Qatar; the 2023 Women’s World Cup in Australia & New Zealand; youth tournaments; Beach Soccer & Futsal World Cups; as well as rights to broadcast UEFA Women’s European Championship national teams’ soccer tournament slated for 2025. The sublicensing agreement follows DAZN's acquisition of exclusive global rights to broadcast all games from the upcoming FIFA Club World Cup last December for around $1 billion.
DAZN's global sublicensing strategy
DAZN has been sublicensing its rights in key markets to recoup some of its large investment. So far this year, it has sublicensed rights in Italy and Spain (Multiset), the US (TNT Sports and TelevisaUnivision), Egypt (MBC Group) and sub-Saharan Africa through Iris Sport Media agency.
Shay Segev, DAZN chief executive, expressed his excitement about bringing the tournament to fans in Brazil. He emphasized that together with their partners, they aim to deliver a tournament with unprecedented engagement opportunities for fans. Before DAZN stepped in as a broadcast partner, FIFA had struggled to secure one due to controversies surrounding the competition. Many traditional media giants were reluctant to pick up the rights as clubs and players expressed dissatisfaction over extra games and workload. This led FIFPRO, the players union, filing a formal complaint last year.
The CWC is set to kick off on June 14 at Miami's Hard Rock Stadium featuring top 32 clubs worldwide playing 63 matches over 29 days. The revamped CWC format will feature continental governing bodies receive multiple team slots except for Oceania Football Confederation (OFC). South America’s Conmebol will have six teams participating including four Brazilian teams along with two Argentinian teams - River Plate & Boca Juniors while Europe’s UEFA will have 12 teams competing.
