FIFA seeking U.S. bids for 2027, 2031 Women’s World Cup media rights

FIFA today invited media companies to bid on the rights to carry the 2027 and 2031 Women’s World Cups in the U.S. and Puerto Rico. It marks the first time the broadcast rights to the women’s event are being sold separately from the men’s World Cup rights in the U.S.

Fox and Telemundo have held the rights to both the men’s and the women’s events in English and Spanish, respectively, since the 2015 women’s edition, with their deals set to expire following the 2026 men’s World Cup in the U.S., Canada and Mexico. Bids are due to FIFA by Dec. 3.

FIFA said the tender process is “primarily focused on the 2027 edition” — which Brazil has already won the rights to host — but invited media companies to also submit an additional offer for the rights to the 2031 Women’s World Cup. U.S. Soccer said after withdrawing a joint bid with the Mexican Football Federation to host the 2027 edition it plans to pursue the 2031 event. The event being held in the U.S. would likely make the media rights more valuable to domestic broadcasters.

Viewership for the 2023 Women’s World Cup, which was held in Australia & New Zealand, was challenged by early-morning kickoff times and a Round of 16 exit for the U.S. women’s national team. English-language coverage of the event averaged 669,000 viewers across Fox and FS1 (down 60% from 2019), while Spanish-language telecasts averaged of 167,000 (down 44% from 2019). The national team’s 1-1 draw against the Netherlands was the most-watched English-language group stage telecast ever with 6.4 million viewers on Fox. The final between Spain and England was down sharply from the U.S.-Netherlands final in 2019 but still drew more than 2 million combined viewers across Fox and Telemundo at 6am ET.