Casimiro Miguel, 32, started on Twitch. Now his network, CazéTV, has rights to all 104 World Cup games in Brazil, including the matches that Globo will also show, and that is the key reversal. Globo, the decades-long “home of soccer” in Brazil, will air 55 games, meaning CazéTV owns the full tournament access in the country across both digital and traditional channels.

This is not just a media trivia flex. It answers a very practical question for Brazil’s soccer-obsessed viewers: how do you watch every single World Cup match? This year, FIFA and its digital-first broadcast strategy give the answer to one influencer-led platform, while the rest of the market gets a partial slice.

Here’s how FIFA is framing the move. FIFA is pushing to engage a new generation of fans, and it says it has a record number of deals with broadcast partners that carry digital-only platforms. The stated intent is to “grab viewers' attention” with what it describes as “game-changing” partnerships. Think of it as the sports media version of an appetizer. FIFA wants younger viewers to come for the social, creator-forward coverage, then go back to watch the games through traditional channels as well.

The timing matters. The World Cup being discussed is the 2026 tournament hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada. It begins Thursday and runs through July 19, with 48 teams, and it is being sold as the biggest World Cup ever. FIFA’s bet is that this is the moment to change the viewing ritual. Instead of treating digital as a sidecar, FIFA is integrating it into the core broadcast rights model.

The influencer piece did not appear out of nowhere. Four years ago, FIFA ran a test with Casimiro Miguel, a popular streamer who had already shown success engaging younger sports fans on his Twitch channel. For the 2022 Qatar World Cup, FIFA did a deal with him and his partner LiveMode to broadcast 22 matches on the CazéTV YouTube channel. Fortune describes that trial as a resounding success, helped by an informal, conversational approach and higher fan engagement, plus participation of content creators as commentators.

That trial then expanded into the 2026 rights outcome: CazéTV becomes the only channel, digital or traditional, with rights to all 104 games in Brazil. This is where executives should pay attention. It is a signal that creator-led distribution is no longer just “nice to have.” FIFA is treating it like a structural advantage, the kind that can lock up full tournament inventory in a major sports market.

CazéTV sits under LiveMode, and the company is also drawing big-name attention. Last month, LiveMode announced it launched an international broadcast arm, with Cristiano Ronaldo listed as one of its shareholders. In Portugal, LiveMode’s channel will broadcast one game per day during the World Cup, including all Portugal matches and the final. Ronaldo, described in the source as 41 and in his sixth World Cup appearance with the national team, connects global star power to a digital distribution strategy.

This creator push is not isolated to Brazil. FIFA earlier this year picked TikTok as the first “preferred platform” for video content on social media at the World Cup, giving creators access to content. Rights holders can livestream parts of the 104 games at a dedicated hub on TikTok. Then in March, FIFA reached a deal with YouTube to allow rights-holding broadcasters to stream game action live on YouTube. Those rights holders are allowed to broadcast the first 10 minutes of games.

For YouTube, the argument is straightforward: “YouTube is where global sports fans tune in before, during, and after the game.” The source quotes Angela Courtin, YouTube’s vice president of entertainment and sports marketing, tying the partnership to reach through creator audiences and to a “pathway” for FIFA’s media partners to upload more premium content. YouTube also points to a live “FIFA Creator Cup” in New York City this July, another creator-centric tactic to bring new fans into the fold.

FIFA’s stated expectations are built on digital engagement math from 2022. The source says FIFA reported 5 billion total engagements during the Qatar tournament, with 2.7 billion from digital and streaming services and 2.9 from linear television. It also notes that nearly 1.5 billion people watched the final won by Argentina, with 237 million being digital-only viewers, according to FIFA. When you put those numbers beside the new rights structure, the strategic question becomes: who gets the audience before the match, during the match, and after the match?

In the U.S., the deal dynamic looks different. Fox holds rights for the 2026 World Cup, and the source says there were no exclusive deals by FIFA with digital platforms, although Fox will have every match streaming live and on-demand within its apps. Streaming giant Netflix secured U.S. broadcasting rights to the Women’s World Cup in 2027 and 2031, described as FIFA’s most significant deal with a streaming service for a major tournament. The through-line is that FIFA is treating streaming and social distribution as central, not peripheral.

LiveMode co-founder Sergio Lopes gives the clearest explanation of the incentive shift for digital-first viewers: there is an audience that connects with digital first, and digital allows them to bring that audience to major sporting events. He says this audience is generally younger and does not just want to watch a match, but wants to participate in the conversation, interact in real time, and feel like part of a community. Lopes also says, “Sport needs to occupy all screens, engage with all audiences to grow,” adding that new audiences expect authenticity and interaction, and that the World Cup experience is becoming more social, participatory, accessible, and connected to digital habits.

For broadcasters, platforms, and investors, the second-order implication is blunt. If CazéTV can hold all 104 games in Brazil by combining influencer distribution with formal rights, then rights negotiations increasingly look like audience acquisition and community-building contests, not just “how many games can you air.” Boardrooms should treat this as a competitive blueprint: legacy networks like Globo are still powerful, but the center of gravity for discovery and engagement may be shifting toward creator-led distribution, especially in markets where social media engagement already runs hot.