An agreement with the London-based streaming company DAZN came just a day before the draw for the inaugural event and after other networks balked at FIFA’s demands.
With time running out, and most broadcasters running away, FIFA said on Wednesday that it had finally managed to secure a broadcast partner for its inaugural 32-team Club World Cup in the United States next year.
The announcement of a global deal with the London-based streaming company DAZN came just a day before FIFA president Gianni Infantino, who has championed the event, was set to preside over the draw for the monthlong tournament.
While financial details of the agreement have not been announced publicly, DAZN is paying close to $1 billion, according to two people familiar with the deal who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss financial matters. DAZN has also secured an option for future rights for the event. In recent weeks, FIFA told teams and other officials that it expected to raise $800 million in television rights fees, part of the roughly $2 billion it expected the event to generate, a figure most market professionals said was unrealistic.
FIFA initially tried to secure a $1 billion global deal with Apple before the technology company walked away, believing FIFA’s demands, which had already halved in value from Mr. Infantino’s earlier estimates, were too high.
DAZN, a sports media company owned by the Ukraine-born and Russia-raised British billionaire Len Blavatnik, has been growing its footprint in soccer. The company has secured prime rights for major leagues and competitions across Europe and beyond, though it has hemorrhaged considerable amounts of cash along the way. Mr. Blavatnik has invested more than $5 billion since starting DAZN in 2016, and has counted losses in the billions of dollars since then.
The company has cycled through business strategies and chief executive officers. Most recently, it partnered with Saudi Arabia as the Gulf nation emerged as one of the biggest investors in global sports. DAZN has become the go-to destination for Saudi sports properties including tennis, boxing and domestic soccer, raising speculation that the partnership may soon lead to direct Saudi investment in DAZN as the country looks to build a sports network of its own. FIFA will award the 2034 men’s World Cup to Saudi Arabia next week.
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Source: Soccer - nytimes.com
