The Club World Cup will be televised live on Channel 5 this summer after the free-to-air broadcaster reached a sublicensing agreement for the UK with the global rights holder, Dazn.
The Guardian can reveal that as part of a cross-promotional deal finalised this week, 23 of the 63 matches will be shown on Channel 5 as well as on Dazn – 15 group games, four last-16 ties, two quarter-finals, one semi-final and the final. The remaining 40 games will be shown exclusively by Dazn, which has committed to making every match in the new expanded tournament available free-to-air globally via its app.
The Club World Cup, which includes Chelsea and Manchester City, will be the highest-profile sports event televised by Channel 5, which has held live rights to the Europa League and numerous highlights packages. Channel 5 is also in talks with the England and Wales Cricket Board about buying two men’s and two women’s England T20 matches this summer as it seeks to expand its sports coverage. It is owned by the American film giants Paramount.
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Dazn paid $1bn (£787m) for global Club World Cup rights in February in a surprise deal that appears to have been largely funded by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, with the kingdom’s Surj Sports Investment group last month confirming it had taken a minority stake in the streaming company valued at $1bn. Fifa subsequently announced the prize and appearance fund would also be $1bn, with the tournament winners to receive up to $125.8m depending on their results and Chelsea and City to bank $38.19m for qualifying.
The Dazn/Surj partnership spared Fifa’s blushes after a lengthy TV rights sales process which had concluded with it failing to find rights partners. Apple TV withdrew from advanced negotiations over a global deal last summer after a disagreement over valuation, with Fifa reportedly demanding $4bn, and a subsequent attempt to sell the rights on a regional basis foundered.
Although Dazn’s latest accounts say it has 300 million monthly users globally, it remains a challenger company in certain markets, including the UK, which led to an agreement to sublicense the rights to ensure larger viewing figures for Fifa and its commercial partners. Warner Bros has a sublicensing deal in the United States.
The Guardian revealed this month that the BBC and ITV had opted not to bid because their main football focus will be their joint coverage of England’s defence of the Women’s European Championship. Channel 5 beat Channel 4 to an agreement with Dazn, the deal brokered by Lee Sears, Paramount’s president of international ad sales.
“We’re delighted to be able to have agreed this fantastic partnership with Dazn to expand free-to-air coverage of the Fifa Club World Cup, live on 5,” Sears told the Guardian. “It’s going to be one of the sporting events of the summer with most of the matches played in the evening peak time and 32 of the world’s biggest clubs involved.” Sears said the ambition was to offer viewers and advertisers “even more [sport] in the months to come”.
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Channel 5 will take Dazn’s coverage and promote Dazn’s brand rather than use its own staff. Real Madrid, Paris Saint Germain, Bayern Munich and Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami are among the participants in the competition, which runs from 14 June to 13 July.