Record $425 Million Paid by U.S. for World Cup TV Rights

The Federation International de Football Association (FIFA), the governing organization that regulates the World Cup of soccer, has awarded television rights to the 2010 and 2014 World Cup games to the United States. The contract was won at a record price of $425 million (354.4 million Euros). The payment is the largest ever for any single country, and a more than 120% increase from the previous deals the United States has made to televise the games. Univision, the Spanish-language network, said it will pay $325 million, which is $175 million more than it paid to broadcast the 2002 and 2006 World Cups. ESPN and ABC will pay $100 million for the English-language rights, which is two and a half times more than the $40 million paid four years ago by Soccer United Marketing, an arm of Major League Soccer.

This contract is the third that FIFA has awarded for 2010 or beyond, and also includes Internet, broadband, and mobile telephone rights to the men’s World Cup, the 2007 and 2011 Women’s World Cups, the 2009 and 2013 Confederations Cups, the Under-20 Women’s Championship, the Under-17 championship, the World Youth championship, and the futsal and beach soccer championships. The 2010 World Cup will be played in South Africa, and the 2014 is designated for an as-yet undetermined country in South America.

The contracts were negotiated in cooperation with Major League Soccer, and the FIFA has already signed similar deals for Japan and Europe. The European deal for 2010 is worth approximately $1.2 billion, or 1 billion Euros. The FIFA staff initially recommended that NBC receive the combined rights. However, Chuck Blazer, the general secretary of CONCACAF, asked that the staff consider the potential for the game to be developed and grow in the United States. An American and a member of the FIFA executive committee, Blazer explained, "NBC had no history in the past 20 years of broadcasting soccer in English." He added, "At this point, the bids by Univision and ABC/ESPN include aspects of the (U.S.) national team, and the league. That was taken into account." Since its inception in 1996, ESPN has broadcast MLS games. ABC has televised the World Cup8 since 1994.

FIFA’s director of marketing and television, Jerome Valcke, said, "It’s important for FIFA and the network to work with MLS. Soccer is not just about the World Cup. The national team, the domestic league, must have exposure." ESPN’s executive vice president, John Skipper, and MLS commissioner Don Garber said that they will soon announce agreements on new television deals. Garber added that MLS hopes to secure rights fees as well. "This absolutely raises value of soccer as TV property in the United States," Garber said. "We stand to benefit by the raised value of the sport commercially."