FIFA threatens a TV coverage blackout in Europe. Broadcasters are being accused of not bidding high enough for the TV rights.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino has called on broadcasters across in the UK and Europe to improve their bids for the broadcasting rights. In a threat to broadcasters, he said FIFA will be “forced not to broadcast the FIFA Women’s World Cup” in five key European markets, including the UK, France, Germany, Italy and Spain.
The FIFA Women’s World Cup starts on 20th July and will be held in Australia and New Zealand. In the UK, the BBC held the rights for the last Women’s World Cup in 2019.
▶ Context: TV coverage in the UK
- The Government announced plans last year to guarantee free-to-air coverage of the Women’s Euros and World Cup. The move brings the women’s game in line with the long-established rules for the men’s game.
- But those plans have yet to be implemented, so a pay TV operator could technically still swoop on some or all of the rights. Ofcom’s current list of sporting events that must be universally available on free-to-air TV is available on its website.
- In the event of free-to-air coverage under the listed events criteria, there is only a limited pool of eligible broadcasters able to provide universal free-to-air coverage. TV channels from the BBC, plus some services from ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5 would meet the current criteria. ITV needs to partner with STV for UK-wide coverage on its channel 3 network. Free-to-air broadcasters don’t have the same deep pockets as pay TV providers.
- Finally, games in the FIFA Women’s World Cup will be played mid-morning, due to the time difference. This means broadcasters in the UK and Europe will be reluctant to pay more for the TV rights. In contrast, the last Women’s World Cup was held in France, allowing broadcasters here to benefit from prime-time coverage.
Marc Thornham