FIFA Raises $1.85 Billion in Broadcast Deals for 2018, 2022 World Cups

ZURICH: FIFA has completed broadcast deals worth $1.85 billion in the last week for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, having recently awarded rights to SBS in Australia, Bell Media in Canada and IMC for the Caribbean.

The $1.85 billion includes an estimated $1.2 billion earned from the U.S. sales to FOX Sports, Telemundo and Fútbol de Primera. In March, FIFA reported a first wave of sales for the 2018 and 2022 events raised $1.7 billion from the Middle East and parts of Asia and Latin America. 

In its latest round of deals, FIFA awarded the rights for Canada to Bell Media, which includes the channels CTV, TSN and RDS, taking the rights away from the current holder, the public broadcaster CBC. The deals with SBS in Australia and IMC across the Caribbean extend current partnerships.

"FIFA is delighted with the progress of our media rights sales to date which, coming amid austere economic times, more than confirm the strength and appeal of our competitions," said FIFA’s secretary general, Jerome Valcke.

Bell Media, which includes the
channels CTV, TSN and RDS, takes the rights away from the current holder, the
public broadcaster CBC.