Netflix’s Bela Bajaria Confirms Interest In Men’s Soccer World Cup Rights

Bela Bajaria, who grew up in North London, not far from Wembley, the site of England’s last World Cup success in 1966, wants Netflix to be in the conversation for the rights to the biggest soccer tournament in the world.

FIFA has held preliminary talks for the U.S. rights to the World Cup in 2030 and 2034, tournaments that have gained interest from the likes of Disney, YouTube and Fox, which aired this year’s tournament held in the United States.

Netflix, which already has the U.S. and Canadian broadcast rights for the 2027 and 2031 FIFA Women’s World Cups, is also keeping an eye on these discussions.

Speaking at the FT’s Business of Entertainment conference, Bajaria called this year’s tournament “exciting” even as she saw Argentina dump England out in the semi-finals. “Brutal,” she added.

“We have a great relationship with [FIFA] because we have the Women’s World Cup and [we’re] having those conversations,” she said. “We’re always going to be in the conversation with the leagues.”

She noted that Netflix wants sporting events that feel “eventy”, which the World Cup certainly is. “I’m really excited about the Women’s World Cup. So, we’re definitely going to always have those conversations,” she added.

In addition to Disney, which owns ESPN, and YouTube, Netflix may also face competition from the likes of Amazon and Apple.

NBCUniversal’s Telemundo had the Spanish-language rights to the tournament, but FIFA could also look to sell both the English and Spanish-language rights together going forward.

The 2030 World Cup will be jointly held in Morocco, Portugal and Spain with games also held in Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay, as it celebrates its 100th anniversary.