It is reported that ITV made an unprecedented £0 offer to try and obtain the broadcasting rights for the Club World Cup.
The rights for the newly formatted tournament, which has been held since 2000, were recently acquired by the streaming service DAZN.
Sources at The Telegraph suggest that ITV attempted to secure the rights for free with a very bold bid.
The British broadcaster apparently believed they could win the rights due to their capacity to reach a large audience.
Their plan was to broadcast the matches on their primary free-to-air channels to reach this extensive viewership.
However, FIFA was not convinced by ITV’s approach and chose to accept DAZN’s substantial financial offer.
A representative for ITV stated: "We would never comment on speculative contractual matters.”
DAZN ultimately paid a significant £800 million ($1 billion) to obtain the rights for the expanded 32-team tournament.
It remains possible that ITV could still broadcast some Club World Cup matches if DAZN decides to sublicense the rights to them.
However, DAZN is reportedly “undecided” on this, as they are considering offering the games without subscription fees to encourage football fans to subscribe to their service.
The Club World Cup is scheduled to commence in mid-June and will conclude on July 13.
The final match will be held at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, the home of the New York Jets and the New York Giants NFL teams.
The 2025 Club World Cup is set to showcase top-tier teams from around the world.
Chelsea and Manchester City will represent the Premier League, while Atletico and Real Madrid will represent LaLiga.
