<\/p>\n
In Brazil, home of soccer-mad fans and the five-time world champions, the only way to watch\u00a0all 104 games of the World Cup\u00a0will be through a streaming platform anchored by an influencer.<\/p>\n
Elsewhere, users will get to see parts of matches live on YouTube and TikTok for the first time.<\/p>\n
Forget about the exclusivity of traditional over-the-air networks: The World Cup will be watched differently this time.<\/p>\n
As FIFA pushes to engage a\u00a0new generation of fans,\u00a0younger audiences will have more options to access soccer\u2019s showcase event thanks to what soccer\u2019s governing body describes as a record number of deals with broadcast partners that carry digital-only platforms. Creators\u2019 perspectives will be brought to the forefront and user experiences worldwide will be enhanced thanks to what FIFA is calling \u201cgame-changing\u201d partnerships.<\/p>\n
The goal is to grab viewers\u2019 attention, effectively giving them an appetizer that will encourage them to go back and watch the games on traditional channels.<\/p>\n
Co-hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada, this year\u2019s World Cup \u2014\u00a0the biggest ever, with 48 teams\u00a0\u2014 begins Thursday and will run through July 19.<\/p>\n
Brazil historically has been one of the countries with the most engagement on\u00a0social media and digital platforms.<\/p>\n
FIFA took notice, and four years ago did a type of a test run with popular streamer Casimiro Miguel, now 32, who had shown success engaging with younger sports fans on his Twitch channel. For the 2022 Qatar World Cup, FIFA reached a deal with him \u2014 and his partner LiveMode \u2014 to broadcast 22 matches on the Caz\u00e9TV YouTube channel.<\/p>\n
With a more informal and conversational approach to the broadcast, along with increased fan engagement and the participation of content creators as commentators, the trial was considered a resounding success. It led to an expanded deal for the tournament this year,\u00a0with Caz\u00e9TV\u00a0becoming the only channel \u2014 digital or traditional \u2014 with rights to all 104 games in Brazil. The network Globo, the home of soccer in Brazil for decades, will show 55 games.<\/p>\n
\u201cFIFA is always looking at innovative ways about how to enhance the broadcast coverage of our flagship competitions and the deal with Caz\u00e9TV is an example of such, which will ensure football fans in Brazil will be able to watch all 104 games, while also helping to reach new audiences and demographics,\u201d the governing body told The Associated Press in a statement.<\/p>\n
LiveMode, the Brazilian company that has Caz\u00e9TV under its umbrella and broadcasts matches with content creators, announced last month that it had launched an international broadcast arm of the company and that Cristiano Ronaldo was one of its shareholders.<\/p>\n
LiveMode\u2019s channel in Portugal will broadcast one game per day during the World Cup, including all of Portugal\u2019s matches and the final. The 41-year-old Ronaldo, one of soccer\u2019s all-time greats, is making\u00a0his sixth World Cup appearance\u00a0with the national team.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is an audience that connects with digital first, and digital allows us to bring this new audience to follow major sporting events,\u201d LiveMode co-founder Sergio Lopes told the AP. \u201cGenerally, this audience is younger and doesn\u2019t just want to watch a match. They want to participate in the conversation, interact in real time, and feel like they are part of a community.\u201d<\/p>\n
FIFA earlier this year picked TikTok\u00a0as the first \u201cpreferred platform\u201d for video content on social media at the World Cup, giving creators access to content. World Cup broadcast rights holders can livestream parts of the 104 games at a dedicated hub on the TikTok app. Then in March, FIFA\u00a0reached a deal with YouTube\u00a0to also allow rights-holding broadcasters to stream game action live on the video platform. Rights holders will be allowed to broadcast the first 10 minutes of games.<\/p>\n
\u201cYouTube is where global sports fans tune in before, during, and after the game. That is what makes our preferred partnership with FIFA for World Cup 2026 so unique,\u201d said Angela Courtin, YouTube\u2019s vice president of entertainment and sports marketing. \u201cBetween the incredible reach of our creator cohort and providing FIFA\u2019s media partners with a pathway to upload more premium content to their YouTube channels, plus our live YouTube FIFA Creator Cup in New York City this July, we are ushering in the next generation of soccer fans for years to come.\u201d<\/p>\n
With the new deals, FIFA expects the 2026 World Cup to break all records related to digital and streaming audiences.<\/p>\n
In 2022, FIFA reported 5 billion total engagements\u00a0during the tournament in Qatar,\u00a0with 2.7 billion coming through digital and streaming services, and 2.9 from linear television. Nearly 1.5 billion people watched the final won by Argentina, with 237 million of them being digital-only viewers, according to FIFA.<\/p>\n
In the U.S.,\u00a0Fox holds the rights\u00a0for the 2026 World Cup, and there were no exclusive deals by FIFA with digital platforms, though the network will have every match streaming live and on-demand within its apps. Streaming giant Netflix has secured the U.S. broadcasting rights to the\u00a0Women\u2019s World Cup in 2027 and 2031,\u00a0in the most significant deal FIFA has signed with a streaming service for a major tournament.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are seeing that sport needs to occupy all screens, engage with all audiences to grow,\u201d LiveModeTV co-founder Lopes said. \u201cNew audiences expect authenticity, interaction and different ways to follow an event. The World Cup continues to be the greatest sporting spectacle on the planet, but the way to experience it is also becoming more social, more participatory, more accessible, and more connected to the digital habits of each generation.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
#Brazils #biggest #soccer #broadcaster #guy #started #Twitch #beat #Globo<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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