Facebook. Snap, and Twitter, are vying to secure the rights to highlight clips from the upcoming 2018 World Cup in Russia, according to a new report out of Bloomberg which in turn credits “two people familiar with the matter” for the information. With the report detailing that “tens of millions of dollars” has so far been offered to 21st Century Fox – who currently holds the World Cup rights for the US market – to secure the rights to online video highlights.
However, according to the same report, Fox has yet to decide on how it wants to make use of the rights, including whether to offer the rights out to one entity as part of an exclusive agreement, or to filter the rights out to multiple outlets as a way to maximize revenue. Although it is clear that video content associated with soccer is proving to be an increasing revenue-generating stream for companies, with companies also looking at new ways in which they can stretch revenue even further. For example, NBC who currently holds the rights to English Premier League (EPL) content recently announced a new ‘Premier League Pass’ which will be offered as a standalone product (priced at $49.99 per year), providing access to a select amount of content – different to what it currently offers its cable subscribers. Which not only opens up revenue from non-NBC subscribed customers, but also requires subscribers to pay more for the full EPL coverage. So it is possible that Fox could also be looking at any number of possible ways in which it can best utilize the rights to the 2018 World Cup.
From the social media perspective, it is not difficult to see why the three social media giants are looking to secure the rights. The World Cup is typically one of the most engaging soccer events and it is heightened further by the fact that it only takes place every four years. So it is expected that once the World Cup kicks off in Russia, social media will be awash with the World Cup in general. Therefore, any or all of these companies gaining any or all access to highlights from the World Cup will likely be extremely beneficial. Not only for satisfying social media coverage of the World Cup in general, but also as a means to fuel additional social media usage. Without even taking in to consideration how social media outlets are continually looking at ways in which they can increase their video offerings in general.