No matter how you try to spin it, the World Cup is the biggest sporting event in the world. More people view it than any other single sporting event. Follow the money when it comes to US viewership.
Moreover, both networks (ESPN and UNIVISION) were outbid for the next two World Cups, in Russia in 2018 and Qatar in 2022. Fox (FOX) owns the English-language rights to the pair, and Telemundo, a property of Comcast (CMCSA)/NBCUniversal, has the Spanish-language rights for the U.S. “It’s bittersweet,” Scott Guglielmino, ESPN’s head of soccer programming, says of the network’s lame-duck status. “We are certainly living in the moment.” Both Guglielmino and Juan Carlos Rodriguez, president of Univision Deportes, say the success of this year’s World Cup is partly a testament to their coverage. “Univision Deportes continues to be the No. 1 destination for soccer fans 12 months out of the year,” writes Rodriguez in an e-mail. Still, according to Brad Adgate, director of research at Horizon Media, “there has got to be some second-guessing” at the two networks over the failure to bid high enough for the next two World Cups.
Although FIFA doesn’t disclose financial details of its agreements, multiple news outlets reported that ESPN paid $100 million for the rights to the 2010 and 2014 World Cups, while Univision paid $325 million for the same pair. For 2018 and 2022, fees more than doubled, with Fox paying roughly $450 million and Telemundo $600 million. The steep price increases are in keeping with a boom in the cost of sports programming, which has maintained its live audience better than most television against digital recorders.