Netflix scores exclusive FIFA Women’s World Cup rights for 2027 and 2031
Netflix’s next shot at goal in live sports: the FIFA Women’s World Cup.
FIFA and Netflix have announced a deal that will give the streamer exclusive rights to the 2027 and 2031 episodes of the FIFA Women’s World Cup in the US. The companies said the deal “represents a landmark announcement for women’s soccer.”
The FIFA Women’s World Cup will be the first competition to be fully acquired by Netflix. According to FIFA, it “reinforces the tournament’s status as the largest women’s sporting event in the world and provides an excellent platform to further promote the game.”
Under the terms of the pact, Netflix will offer U.S. fans “unparalleled access” to every match live and “immersive coverage,” including studio shows. The deal includes Puerto Rico and covers all languages, with top talent set to appear in a dual broadcast for both English and Spanish-language broadcasts in the US.
The 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup will take place from June 24 to July 25 in Brazil and will see the top 32 national teams from around the world compete against each other on the pitch. The host nation or nations for the 2031 tournament have yet to be selected by the FIFA Congress.
For the 2023 Women’s World Cup, hosted by Australia and New Zealand, U.S. broadcast rights were split between Fox Sports and NBCUniversal’s Telemundo, which were also the U.S. rights holders for the 2015 and 2019 tournaments.
In addition to offering live coverage, Netflix will produce exclusive documentary series in the lead-up to both tournaments, spotlighting the world’s best players, their journeys and the global growth of women’s football.
Netflix’s acquisition of the two Women’s World Cup tournaments for U.S. members is the latest move toward live sports. Next week, on Christmas Day, Netflix will livestream two NFL games (Chiefs vs. Steelers and Ravens vs. Texans) to a global audience for the first time, plus a halftime show with Beyoncé during the Ravens-Texans game. Netflix also has rights to at least one NFL holiday game in 2025 and ’26. Additionally, Netflix will carry WWE’s “Monday Night Raw” live weekly starting in January 2025 under a 10-year, multi-billion dollar pact.
“I’ve seen the fandom for the FIFA Women’s World Cup grow immensely – from the electric atmosphere in France in 2019 to, most recently, the incredible energy we saw in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand last year,” said Bela, Chief Content Officer of Netflix. Bajaria. “Bringing this iconic tournament to Netflix isn’t just about streaming matches, it’s also about celebrating the players, culture and passion that drives the global rise of women’s sport.”
FIFA president Gianni Infantino called it “a milestone for sports media rights.”
“As a major brand and FIFA’s new long-term partner, Netflix has demonstrated a very strong commitment to the growth of women’s football,” said Infantino. “This agreement sends a strong message about the true value of the FIFA Women’s World Cup and global women’s football. The partnership between FIFA and Netflix makes this a truly historic day for the broadcaster and for women’s football.”
Netflix’s football-related content includes ‘Under Pressure: The US Women’s World Cup Team’, ‘Captains of the World’ (in partnership with FIFA), ‘Neymar: The Perfect Chaos’, ‘Beckham’, ‘Sunderland ‘Til I That ‘ and ‘Boca Juniors confidential.’ The streamer has also released upcoming documentaries about Vinícius Júnior and José Mourinho.
