NEW YORK (TheWrap.com) ? Fox has won the rights to broadcast the 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup in the United States, Sports Business Daily's John Ourand reported.
That means Fox Sports Chairman David Hill & Co. beat out ESPN, which back in 2005 bought the rights for the 2010 Cup in South Africa and the 2014 event in Brazil.
ESPN has invested heavily in soccer, grabbing the rights to lucrative packages like the English Premier League and lesser ones like Major League Soccer.
"ESPN remains committed to presenting the sport of soccer at the highest level across our platforms with coverage of the UEFA European Football Championship, English Premier League, La Liga, MLS and other top leagues and tournaments, including the 2014 World Cup in Brazil," the Bristol, Conn.-based company said in a statement.
In keeping with its typical line of explanation, ESPN said it remained "disciplined" but "aggressive." That's code for "we got outbid and didn't want to spend as much as it would have taken."
Meanwhile, Fox's deal means that it not only gets the men's World Cup, but all FIFA events from 2015-2022. That includes the women's World Cup, as well as the under-20 and under-17 national team competitions.
The financial detail of the agreement are not yet known, though FIFA is expected to announce the deal in a press conference Friday afternoon. ESPN's previous package was worth $100 million, while Univision paid $325 million for the Spanish-language rights.
However, those rights have changed hands as well. A few different sports reporters, such as Sports Illustrated's Grant Wahl and CNBC's Darren Rovell, tweeted that Telemundo (a property of NBC Universal) had secured the Spanish-language rights.
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