FIFA granted World Cup rights in the U.S. to Fox Sports and Telemundo "without seeking bids from other broadcasters, angering ESPN, which televised the 2014 edition," according to Tariq Panja of BLOOMBERG. FIFA did not say that "it was tendering for the 2026 World Cup before issuing a statement that took Fox’s rivals, including ESPN, by surprise." Fox and NBCUniversal’s Telemundo "were awarded rights to the 2018 and 2022 World Cups" for about $1B, four times as much as the previous contract with ESPN and Univision. Neither side "gave financial details for the extension announced two days ago." ESPN President John Skipper said in an interview that "FIFA never discussed the 2026 rights with the broadcaster." Skipper said, “We heard the news yesterday with the press release FIFA sent out. It’s a less than ideal way for a former partner to hear about it.” The rights "were awarded before a host has been picked for the 2026 event." Bob Ley, network host of ESPN’s football coverage, criticized FIFA on his Twitter feed, writing, “Did FIFA just grant rights to WC2026 without opening it up to bidding? #typicalFIFA.” Univision, based in N.Y., "also issued a statement." Univision said in a statement, “We were not invited to participate in the process and find it curious that FIFA would think keeping the No. 1 Hispanic media company in the U.S. out of a competitive bidding process is good for the growth of soccer in the U.S.” (BLOOMBERG, 2/13). WORLD SOCCER's Keir Radnedge wrote the move is "being seen as compensation over the likely date change of the 2022 finals." Fox execs "were furious when, having bought the rights to what they expected to be summer World Cups in 2018 and 2022 they suddenly discovered that the climate row over Qatar threatened to switch that ‘second’ World Cup into a midwinter broadcast clash with the run-up to the Super Bowl" (WORLD SOCCER, 2/13).
