ESPN & Univision Mad at FIFA Over World Cup U.S. Rights

ESPN and Univision are reportedly angry over FIFA's decision to award U.S. broadcast rights to the 2026 World Cup to Fox and NBC's Telemundo without open bidding.

According to an Associated Press (AP) report published on USA Today, ESPN televised six straight World Cups from 1994 up to 2014. However, the network was outbid by Fox in 2011, which paid "about $425 million for the 2018 tournament in Russia and the 2022 tournament in Qatar," AP wrote.

"We were not invited to be involved in this process," ESPN said in a press statement on Friday, a day after FIFA's announcement. "Considering the high quality presentation that ESPN demonstrated and the exposure we brought to FIFA events through all our platforms, it was surprising and disappointing to learn of this when the press release was issued."

Univision, on the other hand, also issued a statement similar with ESPN's. The network broadcast seven consecutive World Cup events starting in 1990, "but was outbid four years ago by NBC's Telemundo, which agreed to pay around $600 million for U.S. Spanish-language rights for 2018 and 2022," the Associated Press added.

"We were not invited to participate in the process and find it curious that FIFA would think keeping the No. 1 Hispanic media company in the U.S. out of a competitive bidding process is good for the growth of soccer in the U.S.," Univision spokeswoman Esther Mireya Tejeda said in an e-mailed statement, as quoted by AP.

FIFA's announcement on Thursday did not indicate whether its executive committee issued an approval for the U.S. television agreements in the 2026 tournament. It's possible that FIFA is still two years away from even choosing the site for that World Cup event, the Associated Press speculated.

According to LA Times, FIFA posted an announcement on their website explaining that the new deal consists of the FIFA World Cup 2026 and FIFA Women's World Cup 2023. Yet, the organization didn't provide any reason or financial details concerning the contract extension between the TV networks.

FIFA Director of TV Niclas Ericson said that the agreement aims to "promote football in North America and build on the impressive interest shown by audiences" during the 2014 FIFA World Cup, FIFA's announcement noted.

Meanwhile, an NBC Sports spokesman said that they are happy to be offered the opportunity, while Fox stated that the network is "truly honored" for the extension, LA Times reported.

"These events are some of the world's most important sports competitions, and it is our privilege to be entrusted with these rights in the United States," Fox Sports said, as quoted by the news outlet.