Facebook, Snap, and Twitter are bidding tens of millions to host World Cup clips on their platforms (FB, SNAP, TWTR)

pulse

July 10, 2017 10:06 AM

Fox paid $400 million (£310 million) for multiyear World Cup rights, according to The New York Times.

Swedish striker Zlatan Ibrahimović.

Social media giants are offering tens of millions of dollars to Fox so that they can play clips from the Russia World Cup on their platforms, according to a Bloomberg report that cites sources familiar with the matter.

Facebook, Twitter, and Snap are all trying to get rights from Fox that would allow them to play highlights from Russia World Cup football (soccer) games aired in the US, according to two anonymous sources. All four companies declined to comment when contacted by Bloomberg.

Fox is reportedly yet to decide whether to offer the rights to one platform exclusively or whether to spread them across a range of platforms.

Fox paid $400 million (£310 million) for multiyear World Cup rights, according to The New York Times.

Offering clips to social media companies could provide Fox with a lucrative new revenue stream, while social media companies hosting World Cup clips would stand to gain from increased levels of engagement from users and advertisers.

Fox will show the games on broadcast and cable TV but demand for highlights clips could be higher in the US for this World Cup due to the time difference between Russia and the US.

Tech companies are increasingly keen to secure rights to sporting events. In May, YouTube signed a new deal with the National Football League (NFL) in the US to show highlights and old games, while Amazon has secured rights to show a number of live NFL games next season.

Facebook also secured rights to broadcast clips from the Champions League, widely regarded as the world's ultimate football (soccer) competition, while Twitter has also shown major live sports games.

pulse