FIFA has begun the sales process for the broadcast rights to the 2019 Women’s World Cup in France, "launching an invitation to tender" for the U.K. media rights, according to Paul Nicholson of INSIDE WORLD FOOTBALL. It is an "unusual step" by FIFA to publicly announce an ITT, but the fact it has done so "reflects a changing media marketplace" in the U.K. as well as an anticipated and "significant jump" in the commercial value of the Women’s World Cup. The last edition of the Women’s World Cup in Canada "broke broadcast records in virtually all markets globally, but especially in the higher spending U.K. market," and England in particular with the English women’s team winning the third place playoff. Those World Cup performances "generated broad-based viewer interest levels previously unseen for the women's game in England." FIFA will be "hoping to cash in on what it believes is a previously undervalued product in one of the highest paying broadcast markets." The "rights on offer cover TV, IPTV, internet, mobile and radio transmissions" (INSIDE WORLD FOOTBALL, 10/10).
