FOX has done a good job hosting the 2026 FIFA Men's World Cup in North America, providing basically round-the-clock coverage of the global event.
But it could be leaving the network in 2030.
NBC is reportedly making a run at hosting the 2030 World Cup coverage, both in English and in Spanish, according to a report from Sports Business Journal on Wednesday, July 1.
The network is hoping to win both the rights for the English and Spanish broadcasting rights in the United States of America.
© Phil Noble-Reuters via Imagn Images
Joaquin Duro, Telemundo’s EVP/Sports & Head of Streaming, told Sports Business Journal that NBC could look to get the rights in both English and Spanish.
“Definitely something that we are beyond exploring,” Duro said.
The World Cup rights are up for 2030. FOX will likely attempt to get them back, though the price is going up, after the network was able to broadcast the 2022 World Cup at a bit of a discount, when it had to move to November and December.
World Cup could be heading to NBC
NBC, known for its coverage of massive sporting events like the Olympics and Sunday Night Football, would likely be a welcomed host, too.
"FOX is paying $485 million for the English version of the 2026 World Cup, which has proven to be a massive bargain. Karp reports that the Fox and Telemundo averaged 9.7 million total viewers per game in the group stage. The split was 5.05 million for the English broadcast and 4.6 million for the Spanish broadcast," Pro Football Talk shared.
"The NFL’s next wave of broadcast deals will commence in 2030, if/when (when) the NFL exercises its prerogative to shorten the existing contracts by four years. Any NFL partner that hopes to land the World Cup too will be digging deep to pay for the rights. But the expense will ideally be offset by plenty of advertising revenue and other benefits from televising the games."
It'll be interesting to see where the games land.
