The 2026 FIFA World Cup was a massive success for broadcasters and streaming services, but the tournament’s next U.S. rights deal could become a political fight.
When asked about cable and streaming companies, including Netflix, Amazon, and ESPN, bidding for the next two men’s World Cup rights, FCC Chairman Brendan Carr suggested that the global soccer tournament should remain free to viewers on broadcast TV.
“Yeah, I think so. It’s a totally different cultural moment, cultural experience to have things like this for free over the air. It brings so many more people together. It’s the top of conversation, whether social media or all the way down because it’s available to everybody,” Carr said during an interview with talk show host Clay Travis on The Clay Travis & Buck Sexton Show.
The Government Is Taking a Much Closer Look at Sports Streaming
Carr’s comments are part of a much bigger debate over the future of sports on television. The federal government has increasingly focused on the rising cost of watching live sports, particularly as leagues move games from traditional broadcast and cable networks to paid streaming services.
The FCC has examined the growing shift of live sports to subscription streaming services, while the Justice Department has launched an antitrust investigation into the NFL’s television deals. President Donald Trump has also criticized the cost of watching NFL games and called attention to the increasing number of sports events being placed behind multiple paywalls.
The concern comes from the fragmentation of several major sports. Many fans are now asked to pay for YouTube TV or another live TV service, ESPN, Peacock, Amazon Prime Video, Netflix, Paramount+, and other streaming services depending on the sport and the specific game.
The World Cup is one of the few events that can still attract a massive audience beyond dedicated sports fans. That is why the idea of putting the entire tournament exclusively behind a streaming service is likely to draw even more scrutiny.
The 2030 World Cup Rights Could Be Worth Billions
The next World Cup rights deal is expected to be significantly more expensive than previous agreements. Reports have suggested that the 2030 tournament alone could be worth between $1.5 billion and $2 billion in the United States, while FIFA could potentially look to package the 2030 and 2034 tournaments together in a deal worth as much as $4 billion.
That price tag explains why companies like Netflix, Amazon, and ESPN would be interested. Live sports remain one of the few types of programming that can reliably bring millions of people to a TV or streaming service at the same time.
The 2026 World Cup delivered record-breaking audiences in the United States. Nearly 63 million people reportedly watched the World Cup final across Fox and Telemundo, with Fox drawing 38.9 million viewers and Telemundo and Peacock adding another 23.9 million viewers.
The tournament also helped drive new subscriptions. Fox One reportedly added 2.8 million sign-ups in June, while Peacock added 2 million subscribers in the second quarter and reached 48 million subscribers.
For the companies that paid for the 2026 rights, the World Cup proved to be exactly the kind of event that can make a streaming service a must-have destination for sports fans. It also shows that there likely will be a bidding war for the 2030 and 2034 tournaments.
The 2027 Women’s World Cup Is Up Next
FIFA’s next major international soccer tournament begins next year, and it will be placed behind a streaming paywall. Netflix has a deal to carry the 2027 Women’s World Cup in the United States and Canada, with every match available live. Netflix will also carry the 2031 Women’s World Cup in the United States.
That deal gives Netflix experience with FIFA and could give the company an even stronger reason to pursue the men’s tournament when the 2030 rights eventually go up for bid. Netflix has also made it clear that it is willing to spend heavily on live sports when it believes an event can bring new subscribers and keep existing members engaged.
Does This Mean the Government Will Block a Streaming Deal?
Not necessarily. Carr’s comments do not mean that the government can simply stop FIFA from selling the 2030 World Cup rights to Netflix, Amazon, ESPN, or another company. FIFA ultimately controls the rights and will likely choose the deal that makes the most financial sense. But the comments do show how much the conversation around sports rights has changed.
For years, the biggest question was simply which company was willing to pay the most. Now, regulators and politicians are increasingly asking whether certain sporting events are too important to be locked behind a paywall.
The 2026 World Cup showed that Americans are willing to watch soccer in huge numbers when the event is easy to find. The 2030 tournament could show whether the future of sports streaming is heading toward even more exclusive deals or whether pressure from Washington will force the biggest events to remain widely available.
For cord cutters, the outcome could affect not only how fans watch the next World Cup, but also how future NFL, NBA, and other major sports rights deals are structured.
