Dazn has announced a large agreement with Televisaunivision to sublocate many of the games from the FIFA Club World Cup this summer. Televisaunivision will broadcast Univision’s Club World Cup games over Univision, Tudn and Unimas.
A total of 18 of the 61 games will be shown through Televisaunivision. That’s less than 11% of the FIFA Club World Cup. The only way to look at all 61 games is on Dazn, a streaming service.
How we got here
In December, Dazn rolled the dice with FIFA when it announced that it acquired the global broadcast rights to the World Cup 2025. The competition and previous incarnations of it have not exactly set the world on fire.
What Dazn took the risk, however, made it more tasty for broadcasters in the United States. As part of the deal, 2025 FIFA Club World Cup will be exclusive to Dazn all over the world except in the United States, where FIFA has allowed Dazn to sub licensed games for TV program companies.
Why? It’s pretty simple. Dazn is practically invisible in the US market. Having a streaming service that most sports fans in the United States have never heard of is a disaster recipe if it is the only place to look at games. So while it makes sense to have selected games on television, the biggest reason for another issue is completely.
Why FIFA needs Televisaunivision
To put it unclearly, FIFA Dazn needs to sub licenses Select games to TV broadcasters (such as Univision) to expand the awareness that the competition takes place. This way it helps to try to drive ticket sales.
So far, these sales are not so good based on the news that FIFA has lowered ticket prices.
If Fifa had to trust Dazn to generate awareness and interest in this summer’s club, it would be in a world of injured. Therefore, Dagens Nyheter is music to the ears of FIFA, which can now rely on the Televisaunivision to start pumping the competition for the June start date.
According to the Televisaunivision press message, Dazn and Televisaunivision will “work closely together with a marketing and marketing strategy that will maximize the range for the tournament to millions of football fans in the US”
Which broadcasting company will pick up the English-speaking TV rights?
As I predicted in December 2024, “At present in the United States, Dazn has very little focus on the Spanish-speaking audience, so a hypothetical business for Dazn to sub-license games for televisaunivision and/or telemundo to make sense. This is especially true when you think about the competition has fan favorites Inter Miami, Real Madrid, River Plate, Boca Juniors and Monterrey. “
The question now is whether Dazn will do a deal with an English-language television transmitter. And if so, which one? The Spanish -speaking agreement with Televisaunivision is perfect. The English -language alternative is much more complicated.
First and foremost, are there any English -language broadcasters in the states that would be interested? Teams like Inter Miami, Real Madrid, River Plate, Boca Juniors and Monterrey are all Homerun hits for Spanish-speaking audiences. But what clubs would appeal to a large extent English -language audience? The only two Premier League clubs competing are Manchester City and Chelsea. And Manchester City has no significant supporters here.
There is no Manchester United, Liverpool, Arsenal or Tottenham in the competition. So outside the Premier League there is not much that would interest English -speaking Americans. Maybe the closest would be Juventus, where Weston McKennie has played well.
Made for Spanish -speaking TV
The 2025 edition of the FIFA Club World Cup is made for Spanish-speaking audiences. For English -language audience, it is a tough sale especially considering that the American men’s national team will play in the Concacaf Gold Cup on virtually the same calendar date. In addition, it seems that Manchester United and five other Premier League clubs will play over the United States this summer in the latest edition of the Premier League Summer Series.
Unless Dazn is willing to undercent the English-speaking rights free or practical for peanuts, I feel that the doubtful TV business is enough. Anyone, whether they speak English or Spanish, can look at the games over Univision. And if they are so swept by the competition (or if they support American law Seattle and Inter Miami), they can register for Dazn.
There is only too much risk for an English -language broadcaster to fork out a significant amount of money for an unproven competition.
