Fox Corp. is paying less than $500M to air the FIFA World Cup, a price that was “far below what the open market would have dictated,” according to sources cited by Tariq Panja of the N.Y. TIMES. Experts say that the rights are “worth as much as three times” the $500M Fox is paying, raising questions about how Fox “secured such an incredible deal.” Sources said that in March 2014, when FIFA’s board met, some of the “most powerful figures in soccer were told that a decision worth hundreds of millions of dollars to the sport’s governing body was needed to make a problem go away.” FIFA choosing Qatar to host the 2022 World Cup “was to blame.” Qatar’s “hot summers made it unsuitable to host” an event played in June and July. FIFA officials shifted the tournament to late fall, but the English-language rights in the U.S. had been won by Fox years earlier, with the network set to carry both the 2018 and 2022 tournaments. The rights, Fox argued, were worth $425M “paid only if the tournaments were played on their usual summer dates.” Now FIFA “wanted to move the Qatar World Cup to a time when the American sports calendar is jammed.” Sources said that Jerome Valcke, FIFA’s secretary general at the time, “told board members ‘it had been agreed’ to extend Fox’s contract to 2026 in exchange for the broadcaster not acting against FIFA should the World Cup dates be moved.” In February 2015, FIFA announced that Fox, Telemundo and its Canadian counterpart would all receive rights extension for the 2026 World Cup (N.Y. TIMES, 5/24).
BROADCAST FEATURE: THE ATHLETIC’s Adam Crafton noted Fox Sports VP/Production Zac Kenworthy confirmed that the network “intends to use half-time interviews” during the World Cup and added that it “remains in ‘conversations’ with FIFA as to how they will use the three-minute hydration breaks.” It was previously reported that FIFA will “allow broadcasters to cut away to advertisements during the ‘hydration breaks’” that will split up each half of all 104 World Cup matches. FIFA have previously described the three-minute breaks as being “motivated by player welfare,” but the breaks will “take place in every game, even in temperature-controlled venues,” which “left many to conclude that there were also commercial motivations at play.” When asked whether Fox is creating commercial space during the drinks breaks, Kenworthy said: “Those conversations are still happening behind the scenes. There are very real-time conversations as well that we’re having with FIFA.” He added, “I expect we’ll have some news in the next week or two” (THE ATHLETIC, 5/22).
FULL ROSTER: TSN announced its broadcast team anchoring the network’s live coverage for the FIFA World Cup, from the opening match all the way to the Final. TSN is the exclusive Canadian broadcaster and streamer of the World Cup. Hosts are James Duthie, Luke Wileman, Lindsay Hamilton, Jennifer Hedger, Mark Roe and Tekeyah Singh. Analysts are Steven Caldwell, Kevin Kilbane, Atiba Hutchinson, Janine Sonis, Julian de Guzman, Jason de Vos, Tosaint Ricketts, Clare Rustad, Asmir Begović, Milan Borjan, Kristian Jack, Terry Dunfield and Jim Brennan. Reporters are Camila Gonzalez, Claire Hanna, Farhan Lalji, Matthew Scianitti, Rick Westhead and Daniel Zakrzewski (TSN).
