FIFA enhances global reach for Women’s World Cup with broadcast deals

The central governing body for world football, FIFA has announced that it has established a global network of broadcast partners for the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 following the completion of various arrangements in Asia.

Free-to-air agreements with NHK in Japan and CCTV in China PR were recently concluded. Sales were completed in Central Asia (Saran Media Group), Chinese Taipei (ELTA), Hong Kong (PCCW), the Maldives (Medianet), Mongolia (Content Distribution LLC), and the Philippines (Cignal TV) prior to Thursday’s start in Australia and New Zealand. This indicates that the event, which got underway with unprecedented attendance in both host nations, would be aired in over 200 territories, via 130 broadcasters, and FIFA+ in the rest regions.

Following this announcement, the tournament is now set to be covered by at least 70 broadcasters. FIFA made the decision to sell the media rights on a standalone basis wherever possible in order to hasten the commercialization of the women’s game. This decision increased earnings from a variety of media partners, both new and established.

FIFA, Chief Business Officer Romy Gai, said, “We are delighted with the final sales result, which will ensure the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 is one of the greatest sporting events ever and will be viewed in every corner of the world. We saw from the tournament in France in 2019 that women’s football presented a huge opportunity, which is why we took the decision to sell the rights for 2023 on a standalone basis.

“That decision has now been fully justified. We are especially happy that the tournament is widely available on free-to-air which gives us the chance to attract new audiences for women’s football. The revenues from the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 will be entirely reinvested in women’s football, helping it to develop still further in the future.”

FIFA has utilised the chances provided by social media throughout the sales process to bring value and connect with younger consumers. These have culminated in the first-ever agreement with a social media site, TikTok, for specialised social media material, such as behind-the-scenes videos.

In several countries, like Japan, Brazil, Indonesia, and Thailand, FIFA is streaming the full competition live on its own network FIFA+, which was introduced last year. The Final of the FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia & New Zealand 2023 will take place in Sydney’s Stadium Australia on August 20. The 64 games played by the 32 teams will take place in ten stadiums spread across nine host cities.