ESPN boss says Disney wants back in on World Cup rights
Jimmy Pitaro said ESPN is interested in bidding for the 2030 World Cup as FIFA’s next U.S. rights deal draws heavyweight attention.
By Georgia Hale · Staff Writer
3 min read
ESPN wants another shot at the World Cup.
Chairman Jimmy Pitaro said Thursday that the Disney-owned sports giant is interested in bidding for U.S. rights to the 2030 men’s tournament, speaking during a CNBC-hosted event at Fanatics Fest in New York.
Pitaro said ESPN carried the World Cup for about 20 years and described the event as part of the network’s identity. Asked about reclaiming the tournament, he said ESPN is interested and called the company “hyper-competitive” when it comes to sports rights negotiations.
The comments land as the current World Cup cycle has drawn strong attention in the United States, where matches have benefited from friendly time zones and domestic host cities, according to Pitaro. He called the tournament a “juggernaut” and said the U.S. had done a strong job with the event.
Pitaro also praised Fox, ESPN’s current rival in the World Cup business. Although Deadline noted that some soccer fans and media watchers have compared Fox’s coverage unfavorably with ESPN’s past World Cup work, Pitaro said he was impressed by Fox’s live match and studio presentation.
“I don’t know, honestly, how they could have done better with the product,” Pitaro said, according to Deadline.
A pricey chase for 2030
FIFA, which runs the World Cup, has not yet started formal talks with bidders for the next U.S. rights package, Deadline reported. The competition is expected to be attractive to media companies, in part because FIFA has said it plans to expand the men’s World Cup from 48 teams to 64 in 2030.
Fox currently holds the U.S. rights to the 2026 men’s World Cup. Deadline reported that Fox benefited after the 2022 tournament in Qatar was moved from summer to fall, forcing the event to compete with NFL and college football broadcasts. Fox later secured the 2026 rights for a reported $485 million, according to Deadline.
The next round could be much richer. Recent published reports cited by Deadline have put the potential value of the next rights deal between $1.5 billion and $2 billion. Netflix and YouTube have been mentioned among possible bidders, Deadline reported.
Netflix already has a place in FIFA’s U.S. media plans. The streamer has secured rights to the 2027 and 2031 Women’s World Cups in the United States and Canada, according to Deadline.
Disney, ESPN and the NFL
Pitaro also discussed ESPN’s place inside Disney under new CEO Josh D’Amaro, who succeeded Bob Iger earlier this year. Pitaro said he had worked under Iger and described both executives as sports fans, adding that D’Amaro sees ESPN as a key part of Disney’s strategy.
Compared with several media rivals building direct-to-consumer streaming businesses, Pitaro said ESPN remains one of Disney’s differentiators.
He also touched on ESPN’s NFL relationship. The league recently took a 10% stake in ESPN through a deal that swapped NFL media assets for equity, according to Deadline. Pitaro did not spell out whether ESPN would extend its current NFL rights agreement, but he said the relationship is “in a great place.”
Deadline reported that ESPN and Disney, like other NFL media partners, are being asked to pay additional rights fees under a clause in the league’s 11-year rights agreements that began in 2023.
This story draws on original reporting from Deadline.