FIFA and EBU extend rights deal for Women’s World Cup 2023
FIFA and the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) have extended their existing media rights partnership for the Women’s World Cup Australia & New Zealand, with France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom added to an initial deal to broadcast the tournament across Europe.
Last month, FIFA president Gianni Infantino described bids from France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom as a “slap in the face” and warned of a possible blackout in those countries if deals could not be agreed.
However, a memorandum of understanding between FIFA and the EBU has resulted in the addition of the five major European broadcast markets, along with Ukraine, to an initial deal that was struck back in October 2022 to broadcast free-to-air the tournament to 28 European territories.
The rights include broadcast across TV, digital and radio in a new arrangement that will also see the EBU provide more promotion to women’s football than ever before with a substantial additional commitment to the regular transmission of women’s football content beyond the tournament, FIFA said.
FIFA president Gianni Infantino said: “FIFA is delighted to widen the deal with the European Broadcasting Union for the transmission of the upcoming FIFA Women’s World Cup to include the five major markets within their existing networks, namely France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom, as well as Ukraine, thus ensuring maximum exposure for the tournament.
“As part of this agreement, the EBU has committed to working towards broadcasting at least one hour of weekly content dedicated to women’s football on its own digital platform and broadcaster network. This will provide a huge promotional and exposure opportunity for women’s football, which is a top priority for us in line with FIFA’s commitment to the long-term development of the sport.”
EBU Director General Noel Curran added: “We are delighted to have been able to build on our long-term and successful relationship with FIFA to secure the rights on behalf of Europe’s biggest public-service broadcasters.
“The FIFA Women’s World Cup is one of sport’s most exciting and fastest growing events and we are committed to working hand-in-hand with FIFA to ensure the women’s game is enjoyed by as many people as possible across the continent. We see women’s football as being central to our content strategy and one of the cornerstones of the new digital platform we hope to launch next year.”
EBU Members, including ARD/ZDF (Germany), BBC/ITV (UK), France Télévisions, RAI (Italy) and RTVE (Spain), will also undertake to help market the tournament across all their channels as part of the EBU’s long-term strategy to promote the growth of women’s football in Europe and beyond. In Ukraine, the tournament will be shown by EBU Member, UAPBC.
The new agreement builds on the FIFA-EBU partnership to broadcast the FIFA Women’s World Cup France 2019, where EBU Members reported record audience figures.
The FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia & New Zealand 2023, which is the first to be held in the southern hemisphere and hosted in the Asia-Pacific region, will feature 32 teams, eight more than the previous edition in 2019, and will comprise 64 matches kicking off on Thursday, 20 July 2023 and concluding with the final at Sydney/Gadigal’s Stadium Australia on Sunday, 20 August 2023.
The territories in which EBU Members will broadcast the FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia & New Zealand 2023 are: Albania, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Estonia, France, Georgia, Germany, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland (Republic of), Italy, Kosovo, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, Türkiye, Ukraine, United Kingdom.