Netflix Takes World Cup Rights in Spain

Netflix has made a major play in the live sports business in Europe, acquiring all rights in Spain and Andorra to the 2030 soccer World Cup from soccer world governing body FIFA.

The deal, unveiled Tuesday, will give Netflix exclusive rights in the territories to all 104 matches of the tournament. The streamer is planing to go all in, with full live coverage of the matches and pre-game, halftime and post-game shows, as well as daily round-up show on match days. Netflix said it is also planning extensive pre-tournament programming to build excitement ahead of the event.

All the matches won’t be behind the Netflix pay wall. As part of the agreement, Netflix will make one match per day available for free in Spain and will sublicense a package of matches, including every Spain match, both semi-finals and the final, to a national free-to-air broadcaster.

Spain, the current World Cup champion, will also host the 2030 tournament, alongside Morocco and Portugal. 2030 will mark the 100th anniversary of the event, with celebration matches also being held in Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay.

This isn’t Netflix’s first big soccer deal. The streamer holds broadcast rights to the 2027 and 2031 Women’s World Cups and earlier this year announced a four-year-deal with the Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (Concacaf) to stream, from 2027, the Nations League finals and the Concacaf Gold Cup tournaments in Mexico.

But acquiring World Cup rights in the heart of Europe, for one of the globe’s most soccer-mad nations, is a major step up for Netflix and a clear signal of the company’s ambitions in for live sports internationally. In the U.S., Netflix already carries NFL and MLB games as well as select boxing, MMA and WME events.