sports
Bids Submitted for Combined U.S. Rights to 2030 and 2034 World Cups After Record 2026 Audiences
The ongoing 2026 FIFA World Cup has drawn record U.S. viewership, prompting major media and tech firms to eye a combined English- and Spanish-language rights package for the next two tournaments. Fox and Comcast hold current rights but face financial hurdles from recent deals.
Jul 9, 2:56 PM·1m read1 source
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Record U.S. audiences for the 2026 FIFA World Cup have drawn bids from Netflix, Amazon, Apple, Google/YouTube, Fox, Comcast and Disney for a combined English- and Spanish-language rights package covering both the 2030 and 2034 tournaments, Forbes reported. Belgium defeated the U.S.
Men's national team 4-1 in the round of 16 on a date not specified in the material, attracting 42 million viewers across English and Spanish broadcasts. Thirty million of those viewers watched on Fox outlets, which paid $485 million for the English-language U.S. rights.
Fox CEO Lachlan Murdoch said in an earnings call that the company expects a profit of $50 million to $150 million from the tournament. Mexico defeated England 3-2 in another round of 16 match that drew 23.2 million Spanish-language viewers on Telemundo. Comcast units including Telemundo and Peacock averaged 5.
Comcast paid $600 million for the Spanish-language U.S. rights. FIFA is auctioning the combined U.S. The 2030 tournament will be hosted primarily in Spain, Portugal and Morocco, with three opening matches in Uruguay, Paraguay and Argentina.
The 2034 event will take place entirely in Saudi Arabia. Fox announced a $22 billion acquisition of Roku in mid-June 2026, after which its market capitalization has remained between $20 billion and $21 billion. Comcast announced earlier in July 2026 that it would spin off NBCUniversal and Sky as a separate entertainment entity.
