Women’s World Cup is the world’s most valuable women’s-only sporting event
The GIST: FIFA is actually doing something right. According to a Monday report, world soccer’s governing body finally calculated the worth of Women’s World Cup (WWC) broadcast rights and landed on $300M, making it the world’s most valuable women’s-only sporting event.
The calculation: A portion of the new figure comes from recent sales of 2023 WWC broadcast rights but some also stems from FIFA’s existing broadcast deals. Don’t get too attached to that number, though — the body anticipates the value will rise prior to the 2027 tourney. Soarin’, flyin’.
The context: Though FIFA has sold WWC rights separately in the past, it prefers to sell the WWC and men’s World Cup broadcasts as a package deal. It may collect serious money for both hallmark events soon — Fox’s $425M U.S. English-language broadcast package expires after the 2026 men’s tourney.
The lingering question: A handful of women’s sports broadcast rights will hit the market in the next few years, which could create a snowball effect for every package up for grabs. It begs the question: Should FIFA start to think about unbundling its men’s and women’s broadcast rights, just as it did for its sponsorship structure?
- FIFA might follow in the footsteps of NCAA basketball if Charlie Baker’s recent comments are anything to go by — the NCAA president described upcoming women’s March Madness broadcast negotiations as “a giant opportunity, and we better not blow it.” Agreed.
