Rebecca Lowe is to present Netflix’s coverage as lead host of the FIFA Women’s World Cup in the summer of 2027.
Lowe is the long-term host of NBC Sports’ Premier League coverage and also presented Fox Sports men’s World Cup coverage this year alongside a studio team including Thierry Henry and Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
The 45-year-old has also hosted Olympic Games and the Kentucky Derby on NBC.
Lowe’s Premier League work with NBC will continue unaffected as her contract runs until the late summer of 2028, encompassing the end of the Premier League’s existing rights deal with the network and the Olympic Games in Los Angeles in 2028. Former ESPN presenter Elle Duncan will also serve as a lead host.
Just as last summer when FOX came to an arrangement with NBC, Lowe has been granted special dispensation to work with an outside broadcaster for the Women’s World Cup.
Although Lowe has largely hosted men’s football in recent years, she was previously No. 2 host to Bob Ley during ESPN’s coverage of the Women’s World Cup in 2011. She also covered the England women’s team for the BBC at Euro 2005.
Lowe joined NBC in 2013 and has led its coverage of the English top flight since then as studio host. She has covered every Summer and Winter Olympics in the last 12 years, beginning with the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi, Russia.
She previously worked for the BBC and ESPN, making history with the latter when she became the first woman presenter of an FA Cup final on British television in 2012.
The Women’s World Cup will be hosted in Brazil, the first time that the competition has been staged in South America. Spain are the defending champions are defeating England 1-0 in the final.
Netflix has secured the exclusive broadcast rights in the United States and Canada for the 2027 and 2031 editions of the Women’s World Cup, meaning the tournament will be broadcast exclusively via a streaming service for the first time.
The American company has been in talks in recent months with both play-by-play announcers and studio analysts as it seeks to make a major splash next summer.
According to multiple sources familiar with the talks, the deal is for one tournament initially, despite Netflix also having the rights to host the Women’s World Cup in 2031. That tournament, subject to final FIFA approvals, is expected to take place across the U.S., Mexico, Costa Rica and Jamaica.
The Athletic previously reported that Netflix has held initial exploratory talks with former U.S. women’s national team star Megan Rapinoe to become one of the network’s studio analysts.
Rapinoe is a two-time World Cup winner and arguably the most talked-about U.S. player of her generation. However, a deal has not been signed and those conversations remain to be advanced while Netflix remains in talks with other candidates.
Netflix also held early-stage conversations with Brazilian legend Marta, but any role with Netflix is likely to be contingent on the Brazilian not playing at the tournament in her home country. She is expected by many to compete as a player.
Marta, who has played for NWSL team Orlando Pride since 2017, is yet to confirm if she will participate as a player at the tournament. She will be 41 by the time of the World Cup next summer.
