FIFA's Women's Champions Cup TV Rights Remain Unsold, A Blow To The Organization
The highly anticipated first global women's club competition, the FIFA Women's Champions Cup, has failed to secure a television rights deal. Despite featuring some of the biggest names in women's football, including Arsenal, Corinthians, and Gotham FC, the tournament's organizers have been unable to attract any major broadcasters.
In a similar situation last year with the men's Club World Cup, the organization was able to strike a $1 billion TV deal with the streaming platform Dazn. However, this time around, FIFA has not managed to secure a significant media rights sale, leaving the future of the competition uncertain.
Sources suggest that the Women's Super League's Sky Sports and BBC Sport were offered the tournament, but showed little interest due to concerns about the limited number of matches being played in London. The fact that all games will be held at neutral venues may also have an impact on ticket sales.
The Champions Cup features four teams competing for a title that will be awarded over just four days. While this condensed schedule has its advantages, it's unclear whether broadcasters view it as a valuable property worth investing in.
FIFA has maintained that the process is still ongoing, but with only a few weeks to go before the tournament kicks off, time is running out. The organization had hoped to attract more interest from major broadcasters by emphasizing the global appeal of the competition and the involvement of top teams like Arsenal.
The failure to secure significant TV rights could have implications for the long-term viability of the Champions Cup. Despite efforts to create a flagship women's club competition, concerns about the congested calendar and limited number of matches being played may ultimately prove too much for broadcasters to overcome.
As the situation remains unclear, one thing is certain - the Women's Champions Cup needs to secure significant media rights if it's going to become a successful and sustainable tournament. With only time left before the first games are played, FIFA will be breathing a sigh of relief if a last-minute deal can be struck with a major broadcaster.
The highly anticipated first global women's club competition, the FIFA Women's Champions Cup, has failed to secure a television rights deal. Despite featuring some of the biggest names in women's football, including Arsenal, Corinthians, and Gotham FC, the tournament's organizers have been unable to attract any major broadcasters.
In a similar situation last year with the men's Club World Cup, the organization was able to strike a $1 billion TV deal with the streaming platform Dazn. However, this time around, FIFA has not managed to secure a significant media rights sale, leaving the future of the competition uncertain.
Sources suggest that the Women's Super League's Sky Sports and BBC Sport were offered the tournament, but showed little interest due to concerns about the limited number of matches being played in London. The fact that all games will be held at neutral venues may also have an impact on ticket sales.
The Champions Cup features four teams competing for a title that will be awarded over just four days. While this condensed schedule has its advantages, it's unclear whether broadcasters view it as a valuable property worth investing in.
FIFA has maintained that the process is still ongoing, but with only a few weeks to go before the tournament kicks off, time is running out. The organization had hoped to attract more interest from major broadcasters by emphasizing the global appeal of the competition and the involvement of top teams like Arsenal.
The failure to secure significant TV rights could have implications for the long-term viability of the Champions Cup. Despite efforts to create a flagship women's club competition, concerns about the congested calendar and limited number of matches being played may ultimately prove too much for broadcasters to overcome.
As the situation remains unclear, one thing is certain - the Women's Champions Cup needs to secure significant media rights if it's going to become a successful and sustainable tournament. With only time left before the first games are played, FIFA will be breathing a sigh of relief if a last-minute deal can be struck with a major broadcaster.
A women's football tournament that features top teams like Arsenal? How is it possible for them not to sell TV rights? The fact that all games are played at neutral venues might make sense in terms of security and fair play, but it's a big turn-off for broadcasters. And the condensed schedule? It sounds like they're trying to cram too much into too little time. FIFA needs to go back to the drawing board and think about how to make this tournament more appealing to broadcasters. Like, what's the prize pool looking like? Are there any guarantees of high viewership numbers? Until they figure that out, it's hard to see the Women's Champions Cup becoming a success 
. I mean, a women's club competition should be able to attract some decent TV deals, you know? It just seems like the condensed schedule is gonna be a total turn-off for broadcasters 
. And not having any major games played in London might make it harder for Sky Sports and BBC Sport to get on board 
. It's just frustrating that the women's game is still struggling to get the recognition it deserves 
.
They also need to convince people that the condensed schedule isn't a bad thing... or maybe they should just expand the tournament to more days? 
. It's just not adding up. What's going on behind the scenes? Need some real transparency here 
.
. $1 billion was a big ask last time round and now the whole world is watching (or not) 
️ but apparently, broadcasters are all about the quantity over quality 
. it's like, we get it, women's football is awesome, let's give it a chance! 
fwiw
i think one thing that needs to change is how the tournaments are scheduled... 4 days is super condensed and i can imagine it's hard for broadcasters to make a profit off that 
#WomenInSport. Can you imagine if this happened with the men's Champions League? It'd be a huge loss for sports fans worldwide 
#SportsLoss. Let's hope they can find a way to make it work and attract some major broadcasters before the tournament starts! Fingers crossed for the future of women's football 
#FIFAWomen
. And it's not just about the team, it's about the whole experience: the competition itself is actually pretty cool (imo). But if major networks aren't interested, it's gonna be tough to get that prize money going 
. And now they're scrambling to find TV deals? Like, didn't they learn from last year? 
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i mean im all about equality and more opportunities for women's football but tv rights deals gotta make sense too? maybe they should just stream it online or something so people can watch at their own pace 
gotta get some big names on board for this thing to fly
and now it seems like no one wants to invest in it 
but at the same time, i get it, it's just not looking good 
that doesn't add up, imo. should be a bigger show considering the talent involved... like what's going on with all these games in neutral venues? don't think that makes it more appealing to viewers 
. But seriously, I don't get why major broadcasters aren't interested in this. It's not like they're getting a bad deal or anything! 
. We need this tournament to succeed so much!
it's like they thought ppl would automatically jump 2 invest in this comp, but clearly that ain't happening 
i think its crazy that they cant attract big broadcasters for this tournament when the men's club world cup got $1 billion 
but i guess thats not enough to convince the big boys to take a chance on this tournament