Fox Secures 2026 World Cup Rights for Under $500 Million as FIFA Settles Qatar Scheduling Conflict
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · May 24
Fox Secures 2026 World Cup Rights for Under $500 Million as FIFA Settles Qatar Scheduling Conflict
4 articles · Updated · The New York Times · May 24
Fox will pay less than $500 million for the 2026 World Cup, according to people familiar with the agreement, far below analysts’ estimates that the rights could be worth up to three times as much.
The bargain traces back to FIFA’s decision to move the 2022 World Cup in Qatar from its usual June-July slot to late fall because of extreme summer heat.
That calendar shift created a conflict with Fox, which had already won English-language U.S. rights under the tournament’s traditional schedule, prompting FIFA to craft a compensating arrangement.
A March 2014 FIFA board meeting in Zurich addressed the issue, with officials told a decision worth hundreds of millions of dollars was needed to make the problem go away.
The newly reported pricing and meeting details highlight how FIFA’s 2010 choice of Qatar as host reshaped later media-rights negotiations.
As the World Cup begins, how is FIFA's secret deal with Fox quietly reshaping the future of sports broadcasting?
What does the true cost of the 2022 Qatar decision look like, revealed through Fox's secret 2026 broadcast deal?