FOX will be awarded the broadcast rights to the 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup, beating out ESPN and NBC, according to a new report.
FOX reportedly will pay $450-$500 million for the package, a huge jump from the $100 million paid by ESPN for the rights to the 2010 and 2014 World Cup. The deal also includes the rights to the Women’s World Cup in 2015 and 2019, Sports Business Daily reported.
Initial bids were submitted to FIFA, the governing body of world soccer, on Wednesday in Zurich and a second round of bids were handed in Thursday afternoon. An official announcement from FIFA is expected early next week, Sports Business Daily reported.
ESPN was widely expected to retain the rights, and in a statement Friday indicated that their bid was not high enough.
“We made a disciplined bid that would have been both valuable to FIFA and profitable for our company, while continuing to grow our unprecedented coverage of the World Cup and Women’s World Cup events. We were aggressive while remaining prudent from a business perspective,” the network said.
Telemundo reportedly outbid Univision for the Spanish-language broadcast rights to the ’18 and ’22 World Cup, offering $600 million. Univision had paid FIFA $325 million for the 2010-14 rights.
The 2018 World Cup will be held in Russia, while Qatar hosts in 2022.
FOX is owned by News Corporation, which also owns The Post and NewsCore.