EBU rescues FIFA blushes with 28-nation WWC2023 deal, but big European markets still resist

October 25 - As FIFA demands that broadcasters in Europe's biggest TV markets in the UK, Germany, Italy, France and Spain massively increase their bids for Women's World Cup broadcast rights 2023 in Australia/New Zealand, the world government has reached an agreement with the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) for 28 of the continent's smaller television territories.

The agreement with Eurovision Sport, the sports arm of the EBU, will see all 28 participating EBU Members receive platform-independent rights to the tournament. They will also commit to more coverage than the previous Women's World Cup.

The fact that a deal with Europe's biggest broadcasters still cannot be reached raises questions as to whether FIFA has completely misjudged the tightening of the broadcast rights market in Europe and whether it has over- played his hand similarly to the disastrous loss of the EA Sports deal for the FIFA video game franchise.

It also begs the question of whether broadcasters view women's football as a premium broadcast product. While most invest significantly in their domestic leagues and UEFA rights, the FIFA World Cup does not excite them in the same way.

Most broadcasters will have allocated their major spending rights years in advance and yet FIFA is only now trying to secure deals for an event that is only eight months away and for matches in 'a time zone that won't work for European audiences and especially casual viewers of international women's football

Even so, FIFA President Gianni Infantino and senior officer Romy Gay complained that broadcasters had submitted rights bids unbecoming of women's football and therefore deemed far too low.

"When these same broadcasters, often public but also private, offer us 100 times less for the Women's World Cup than they offer for the Men's World Cup, even more than 100 times on certain occasions, then this is not acceptable,” Infantino told a press conference in Auckland last weekend.

"We are not going to accept this because we know that the audience figures of these broadcasters in some major football countries for the Men's World Cup or for the Women's World Cup are in fact very similar."< /p>

On the deal with the EBU, Eurovision Chief Sporting Officer Glen Kilane said: "This deal will build on the great legacy of extraordinary coverage of the Women's World Cup of FIFA 2019, where EBU Members provided record audiences.

"Next year's World Cup gives us the opportunity to show once again that public service media is committed to ensuring that the promotion of women's football and women's sport remains at the heart of of our mission", he continued.

The EBU was a FIFA broadcast partner for the 2019 Women's World Cup when the tournament saw a surge in television audiences and global interest. The world governing body is keen to capitalize on the momentum in women's football and commercialize the 2023 finals with the aim of the Women's World Cup breaking even for the first time.

Registered EBU Members for Rights are RTSH (Albania); ORF (Austria); RTBF & VRT (Belgium/Luxembourg); BHRT (Bosnia/Herzegovina); BNT (Bulgaria); HRT (Croatia); CYBC (Cyprus); CT (Czech Republic); ERR (Estonia); GPB (Georgia); MTVA (Hungary); RÚV (Iceland); TEN (Ireland); RTV (Kosovo); LT (Latvia); LRT (Lithuania); PBS (Malta); TRM (Moldova); RTCG (Montenegro); MKRTV (North Macedonia); TVR (Romania); RTS (Serbia); RTVS (Slovakia); RTVS (Slovenia); SRG SSR (Switzerland/Liechtenstein); and TRT (Turkey). Some broadcasters have pledged to show one match per day live during the tournament.

BNR (Bulgaria); CR (Czech Republic); LR (Latvia); and Radio Romania will provide radio coverage.

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