UK pay-TV heavyweight TNT Sports, owned by media giant Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD), has snapped up rights to the upcoming 2023 FIFA Club World Cup (CWC) soccer competition taking place in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Under the agreement, TNT Sports and the Discovery+ streaming service will show every match from the competition across the UK and Ireland, starting with Saudi Pro League winner Al-Ittihad taking on OFC Champions League champions Aukland City tomorrow (December 12) at the King Abdullah Sports City Stadium through to the final on December 22.
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English Premier League side Manchester City are representing Europe after winning the UEFA Champions League last season and will join Copa Libertadores winner Fluminese, AFC Champions League winner Urawa Red Diamonds, CAF Champions League winner Al-Ahly, and Concacaf Champions League winner Club Leon.
The CWC was shown in the UK last year by the FIFA+ streaming platform, while coverage in Ireland was provided by LiveScore Group, the sports scores and streaming services provider.
The rights add to TNT Sports’ soccer portfolio, which includes the next domestic rights cycle covering 2024-25 to 2028-29 to English soccer’s Premier League in a deal announced earlier this month alongside rival pay-TV broadcaster Sky.
The broadcaster also has rights to the UEFA Champions League and last month unveiled a major swathe of women’s soccer rights through a sub-licensing deal with global subscription streaming platform DAZN.
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By GlobalDataUnder that deal, TNT Sports airs coverage of the UEFA Women’s Champions League, as well as one match live per week from across three top-tier women’s leagues around the continent, including Division 1 Arkema in France, Liga F in Spain, and the Frauen Bundesliga in Germany.
TNT Sports’ new rights come after Italian social media-based news outlet Cronache Di Spogliatoio announced a deal to exclusively broadcast the CWC live on YouTube.
Last month, meanwhile, Globo, the heavyweight Brazilian broadcaster, unveiled a tie-up to cover the 2023 CWC after Brazilian side Fluminense secured their entry to the annual event.
This represents a rights extension in terms of CWC coverage for Globo, which also covered the prior edition of the knockout tournament in which the winners of the various continental club soccer competitions face off.
