Investing.com — A massive bidding war is brewing over the U.S. broadcast rights for the 2030 and 2034 FIFA World Cups, as streaming and legacy media giants look to sideline incumbent Fox Corp (NASDAQ:FOX). According to a recent report from CNBC, heavyweights Netflix Inc (NASDAQ:NFLX), Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS), and Alphabet’s (NASDAQ:GOOGL) YouTube are all actively exploring bids for the coveted soccer package.
Discussions between FIFA and prospective media partners are slated to kick off within the next three months, laying the groundwork for unprecedented numbers. Sources familiar with the matter indicated that media executives are budgeting between $1.5 billion and $2 billion per tournament, dwarfing historical figures.
FIFA is further driving up the premium by signaling intentions to sell the English- and Spanish-language U.S. rights as a combined single package. This packaging pivot will likely squeeze out traditional players like Comcast Corp’s (NASDAQ:CMCSA) NBCUniversal, which is currently evaluating its post-spin-out finances and remains unlikely to compete at that price threshold.
The astronomical valuation comes despite tougher time zones for the upcoming tournaments in North Africa, Europe, and Saudi Arabia. However, the report cautioned that tech juggernauts like Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ:AMZN) and Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) could still jump into the fray, completely untethered by traditional broadcast constraints.
While streaming platforms view this as the ultimate subscriber acquisition tool, Wall Street is taking a wait-and-see approach to the heavy capital expenditure, likely due to a lack of visibility and near-term accretion. Shares of Netflix, Disney, and Alphabet remained largely unchanged following the news, as investors weigh the massive $2 billion price tag against potential long-term advertising revenues.
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