Netflix will stream all 104 matches of the 2030 men’s World Cup in Spain and Andorra, giving the company exclusive rights to a tournament Spain will co-host and its biggest soccer property to date. Netflix plans full live coverage, including pre-game, halftime and post-game shows, with a “distinctly Spanish perspective.” It will also run a daily round-up show on match days and World Cup programming ahead of the tournament.
Free access survives the shift to streaming. One match per matchday will be available for free in Spain. A package sublicensed to a national free-to-air broadcaster is set to include every Spain match, both semifinals and the final. Those carve-outs reflect a political reality: governments and fans treat World Cup games as shared cultural events, and an exclusive paywall would invite backlash.
Chief content officer Bela Bajaria said she watched Spain lift the trophy from the stands this year. “Few events unite people like the World Cup,” she said, adding that Netflix wants to bring every match to fans in Spain and Andorra.
The deal caps a steady climb into FIFA’s rights portfolio. Netflix holds U.S. and Canadian rights to the 2027 and 2031 Women’s World Cups, and Bloomberg reported it is paying $200 million for the 2027 edition. It also has a four-year Concacaf agreement starting in 2027, covering the Nations League finals and Gold Cup. Gabe Spitzer, Netflix’s vice president of global live sports, said earlier this year the company wanted a “conversation” with FIFA about the 2030 men’s rights. The 2030 tournament marks the competition’s centenary. Morocco, Portugal and Spain host, with matches also staged in Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay.
Rival broadcasters now face a harder calculation. If a streamer can take exclusive rights to football’s biggest event in one of Europe’s most football-obsessed countries, traditional bidders may need to rethink their strategies. Netflix still has to prove it can deliver. Its Mike Tyson-Jake Paul fight drew 60 million households, but viewers complained of technical problems. A World Cup in Spain, with a defending champion on home soil, will test the platform’s streaming infrastructure far harder. Financial terms of the Spanish deal have not surfaced in available reporting.
