LOS GATOS, Calif.—In a historic deal for women’s soccer and major sports on streaming services, Netflix has secured the exclusive U.S. rights to the Women’s World Cup from FIFA for 2027 and 2031. It will be the first time the tournament will appear on a streaming service, FIFA said.
The 2027 tourney, which runs from June 24 to July 25, will feature 32 teams from across the globe, competing in 12 cities throughout Brazil, the host country. The 2031 location has not yet been announced.
“This is a landmark moment for sports media rights,” FIFA president Gianni Infantino said. “As a marquee brand and FIFA’s new long-term partner, Netflix has shown a very strong level of commitment to growing women’s football. This agreement sends a strong message about the real value of the FIFA Women’s World Cup and the global women’s game. FIFA and Netflix partnering together makes this a truly historic day for broadcasting and for women’s football. Besides broadcasting the tournaments themselves, Netflix will play a key role in terms of bringing the fascination of women’s football to a multimillion audience in the lead-up to both final tournaments, thereby enabling us to further increase their appeal.”
The Netflix-FIFA pact covers all languages and will include both English- and Spanish-language telecasts. For the last Women’s World Cup in 2023, Fox Sports held U.S. English-language TV rights with Spanish-language telecasts on NBCUniversal-owned Telemundo.
As part of the deal, Netflix will supplement its coverage with studio shows and top-tier talent for commentary and entertainment.
In addition, in the run-up to the tournament, Netflix will produce exclusive documentary programming spotlighting the top players, their journeys, and the explosion of the sport around the globe.
The deal is the latest example of Netflix’s push to add major live events, particularly sports. With this deal, Netflix’s slate of premium live programming now spans entertainment (the SAG Awards returns to Netflix on Feb. 23), comedy (“GROAT: The Greatest Roast of All Time: Tom Brady”) and sports, with major deals for NFL Christmas Day games and WWE “Monday Night Raw,” along with the upcoming FIFA Women’s World Cup.
Last month, Netflix reported that 108 million people tuned in to see Jake Paul battle Mike Tyson, making it the most-streamed sporting event ever and one of the most controversial, with major tech problems plaguing the coverage.
The co-headlining event, Katie Taylor vs. Amanda Serrano, punched its way to the No. 1 most-watched professional women’s sports event in US history with 74 million live global viewers. On Christmas day, it will offer a double-header of NFL Christmas Day games, featuring the Chiefs vs. the Steelers and the Ravens vs. the Texans.
The Netflix debut of “Monday Night Raw” will be on Jan. 6.
“Our record-breaking success with Amanda Serrano vs. Katie Taylor demonstrated the massive appetite for women’s sports and live programming,” Netflix chief content officer Bela Bajaria said. “I’ve seen the fandom for the FIFA Women’s World Cup grow tremendously — from the electric atmosphere in France in 2019, and most recently, the incredible energy across Australia and New Zealand in 2023. Bringing this iconic tournament to Netflix is not just about streaming matches — it’s about celebrating the players, the culture, and the passion driving the global rise of women’s sports.”
