FIFA has announced that the next two editions of the FIFA Women's World Cup in 2027 and 2031 will be exclusively broadcast on Netflix within the United States.
It is the first soccer tournament acquired in its entirety by Netflix. FIFA says the deal "reinforces the tournament's status as the single biggest women's sporting event on the planet and provides an outstanding platform to further promote the game."
The agreement also covers Puerto Rico and promises English and Spanish language broadcasts. The deal with Netflix replaces the previous rights deal which was shared between Fox and Telemundo.
In a landmark deal, the streaming giant will show all 64 matches of the 2027 tournament held in Brazil within the United States. In addition, they will provide immersive coverage featuring star-studded studio shows.
The United States and Mexico are one of the prospective bidders to host the 2031 tournament. The staging of two successive tournaments within similar time zones in the Americas will greatly enhance viewing figures within the United States for Netflix.
The 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup was the first in which the world governing body sold the media rights as a standalone package. They initially faced difficulties selling the packages for what they considered to be their true value.
Yet ultimately their own data claimed the 2023 tournament in Australia and New Zealand was viewed by around 2 billion people worldwide with 932.85 million watching on linear television and 895.38 streaming content through digital platforms.
The United States match with the Netherlands was the most streamed group stage match in Fox Sports' history. NBC Universal's Spanish language coverage of the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup generated 395 million total minutes viewed across Telemundo, Universo, and Peacock's streaming platforms, up 12 times compared to the 2019 tournament in France.
FIFA claim the deal with Netflix will allow them "to reach even greater audiences and to set new benchmarks in terms of US engagement" "This is a landmark moment for sports media rights." said FIFA President Gianni Infantino.
"As a marquee brand and FIFA's new long-term partner, Netflix has shown a very strong level of commitment to growing women's football. 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 football."
"Besides broadcasting the tournaments themselves, Netflix will play a key role in terms of bringing the fascination of women's football to a multi-million audience in the lead-up to both final tournaments, thereby enabling us to further increase their appeal."
Netflix has certainly demonstrated a strong recent commitment to the growth of women's soccer broadcasting the recent documentaries on the legendary 99ers team as well as "Under Pressure: The U.S. Women's World Cup Team" and "#SeAçabo: The Kiss That Changed Spanish Football".
As part of the deal with FIFA, Netflix will produce further exclusive documentary series in the lead-up to both tournaments, spotlighting the world's top players, their journeys and the global growth of women's football.
Netflix Chief Content Officer Bela Bajaria said "I've seen the fandom for the FIFA Women's World Cup grow tremendously - from the electric atmosphere in France in 2019 to, most recently, the incredible energy we saw across Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand last year. Bringing this iconic tournament to Netflix isn't just about streaming matches, it's also about celebrating the players, the culture and the passion driving the global rise of women's sport."