Netflix lands first men's World Cup deal, streaming all 104 games in host nation Spain

Netflix has struck its first deal to broadcast a major men's World Cup, securing exclusive rights to stream all 104 matches of the 2030 FIFA World Cup in Spain and Andorra — the host nation where Spain enters as defending champion.

The agreement, announced Tuesday, marks the centenary edition of the tournament, a competition Spain will share hosting duties on with Portugal and Morocco. Three opening matches will be played in South America — in Argentina, Uruguay, and Paraguay — before the main tournament unfolds across the three European and North African hosts. The expanded 48-team field produces 104 games in total.

Netflix will carry every match live on its platform, but the deal is not a complete paywall. One match per matchday will be available free of charge in Spain, and a separate package — covering every Spain national team game, both semifinals, and the final — will go to a national free-to-air broadcaster, according to multiple reports.

We have a great partnership and relationship with FIFA, so we're definitely always going to have those conversations.— Bela Bajaria, Netflix Chief Content Officer

Before this agreement, Netflix held World Cup streaming rights only for the women's tournament. The streamer secured U.S. rights to the 2027 and 2031 Women's World Cups in December 2024, ending Fox's run as the American broadcaster of the event dating back to 2015. Netflix also holds Canadian rights to both women's tournaments.

The Spanish arrangement is being closely read as a potential blueprint. Sports Business Journal reporter Austin Karp noted the structure — one free daily match, plus a package of marquee games sold to an over-the-air partner — could be replicated as Netflix pursues men's World Cup rights in other markets.

The far larger prize remains unsold: FIFA has yet to award U.S. rights to the 2030 and 2034 World Cups. Fox, NBC, Disney, YouTube, Prime Video, and Apple have each reportedly expressed interest, per Awful Announcing. FIFA is said to want to package English- and Spanish-language rights together, an arrangement that could favor a single streaming platform able to run both language feeds without needing separate broadcast channels.

Netflix has been building toward live sports steadily. A World Cup video game developed jointly by Netflix and FIFA was released on the platform in June. With the 2027 Women's World Cup in Brazil approaching, Netflix has brought on commentator Andrés Cantor, tapped Rebecca Lowe to serve as host, entered discussions with Megan Rapinoe and Marta about analyst positions, and said it will air the Women's World Cup draw live from Brazil in December, according to Awful Announcing.

With Spain's deal now public, Netflix has shown at least one answer to the central question facing its sports ambitions: how much of a premium tournament it is willing to share with free television in order to win the rights in the first place.

Why it matters — Netflix's first men's World Cup deal — and its decision to share the biggest games with free TV — signals how the streaming era may reshape who controls access to the world's most-watched sporting event, with U.S. rights still up for grabs.

Reported by yahoo.com, reuters.com, nytimes.com, netflix.com, awfulannouncing.com, telegraph.co.uk, variety.com, infobae.com