DAZN locks up Italy’s entire 2026 World Cup
DAZN has secured exclusive rights in Italy to broadcast all 104 matches of the FIFA World Cup 2026, running from 11 June to 19 July 2026 across Canada, Mexico, and the United States. FIFA and DAZN executives framed the deal as part of a broader partnership that also references the FIFA Club World Cup 2025 and the ongoing development of FIFA+.
Key Takeaways
- DAZN will be the exclusive Italian broadcaster for all 104 matches of FIFA World Cup 2026.
- The 2026 tournament expands to 48 teams, increasing inventory and scheduling complexity for the rights holder.
- FIFA explicitly links this agreement to a wider strategic relationship with DAZN, alongside Club World Cup 2025 and FIFA+.
- Exclusive national rights shift the Italian mass-market audience for the World Cup toward a pure-play streaming distribution model.
Why It Matters
This is another datapoint in the “global tentpoles go streaming-first” playbook: premium sports rights are increasingly being used to force mainstream adoption, not just serve superfans. For DAZN, an exclusive World Cup in a major football market is a customer-acquisition and retention weapon—plus a stress test for product reliability, ad load, and distribution partnerships at peak concurrency. For FIFA, pairing mega-events with FIFA+ messaging signals a push to keep more fan data and engagement in its own orbit, even when monetization runs through a platform partner.
Read full article at broadcastnow.co.uk
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