The sports ministers of the UK, France, Spain, Germany and Italy have urged broadcasters and Fifa to “quickly reach an agreement” on Women’s World Cup TV rights, with only 50 days until the tournament begins. In a joint statement, the five countries expressed their “concern” that an agreement had not been reached, but expressed confidence that Fifa and broadcasters would “find a common path”. This follows Fifa President Gianni Infantino’s criticism of European broadcasters for offering $1m-$10m (£800,000-£8m) for the rights, compared with $100m-$200m for the men’s World Cup. Infantino threatened not to broadcast the event in the UK, France, Spain, Germany and Italy if the offers were not improved. Moya Dodd has criticised Infantino’s stance, saying Fifa has historically undervalued the women’s game.
The BBC held the sole broadcast rights in the UK for the 2019 Women’s World Cup but shared the rights for the recent men’s World Cup in Qatar with ITV. It has widely been reported that the BBC and ITV will share broadcasting rights for this summer’s tournament, although no announcement has been made. Last year the Women’s World Cup and European Championship were added to the ‘crown jewels’ of British sporting events, which require free-to-air coverage.
Fifa has trebled the total prize money to $152m (£123m) compared with the 2019 Women’s World Cup in France and reiterated its desire to have equal pay for the men’s and women’s World Cups by 2026 and 2027. According to Fifa’s data, 1.12 billion people watched the 2019 Women’s World Cup in France, a record for a women’s tournament. Kick-off times for the 2023 World Cup are less favourable, ranging from 01:00 to 12:00 BST, although England’s three group games start between 09:30 and 12:00 and the final is scheduled to kick off at 11:00.
A record global audience of 365 million watched last summer’s Euro 2022 in England, with 50 million tuning in for England’s victory over Germany in the Wembley final. Research from the Women’s Sport Trust (WST) revealed that the amount of time the average UK viewer spent watching women’s sport in 2022 was more than double the 2021 figure. The sports ministers of the UK, France, Spain, Germany and Italy have urged broadcasters and Fifa to reach an agreement on Women’s World Cup TV rights as soon as possible, expressing their confidence that a common path will be found. They have also highlighted the importance of free-to-air coverage of such events, as well as Fifa’s commitment to equal pay for both men’s and women’s World Cups by 2026 and 2027. With only 50 days until the tournament begins, it is essential that an agreement is reached soon in order to ensure that a record global audience can watch this summer’s event.