Global streaming giant, Netflix, continues to make waves in the sports broadcasting industry by securing exclusive US rights to the next two editions of soccer's FIFA Women's World Cup matches. This move marks a significant shift in how sports fans and betting enthusiasts access their favorite events.
Netflix will provide both English and Spanish-language telecasts of this major quadrennial soccer tournament. The platform plans to air live games with comprehensive coverage in both languages. In addition, it will produce shoulder content studio shows around the fixtures and pre-tournament documentary content featuring competing teams.
FIFA president Gianni Infantino lauded this development as a "landmark moment for sports media rights". This move comes after the 2023 Women’s World Cup was broadcasted in the US by national network Fox and its FS1 channel, which saw a decline in viewership due to time zone challenges and an early exit from competition by the US team.
FIFA president, Gianni Infantino, said:
“As a marquee brand and FIFA’s new long-term partner, Netflix has shown a very strong level of commitment to growing women’s soccer. 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 soccer.
“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.”
Big deal for Netflix in football domain
The upcoming 2027 edition is set to take place in Brazil from June 24 through July 25. Meanwhile, selection for the host nation of the 2031 edition will occur mid-2025 with potential bids from interested parties including the United States.
With Netflix's extensive reach coupled with more favorable time zones for American audiences during these tournaments, there is high anticipation that viewership numbers will surge once again if current world number one ranked US team performs as expected.
Previous forays into live sport broadcasting
This latest acquisition represents another step forward for Netflix into live sport and women’s sport broadcasting. Earlier this year, it showcased Mike Tyson vs Jake Paul boxing bout co-headlined by a women’s lightweight championship bout between Ireland’s Katie Taylor and Puerto Rico’s Amanda Serrano. Despite technical issues such as buffering and poor screen quality, the event drew over 60 million households of viewership.
However, these technical issues have raised concerns for Netflix's upcoming exclusive deal with American football’s NFL to air Christmas Day games for the next three seasons. The agreement will kick off this year when Netflix will broadcast two games – Kansas City Chiefs vs Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens vs Houston Texans. Furthermore, Netflix has secured long-term global rights to WWE’s weekly WWE Raw show set to begin broadcasting on January 6, 2025.
Netflix's move into sports broadcasting represents a significant shift in how sports fans access their favorite events. With its wide reach and potential for increased viewership due to favorable time zones, it is poised to become a major player in the world of live sports streaming. However, it remains crucial that they address previous technical issues to ensure a seamless viewing experience for all users.
