China Central Radio and Television and FIFA announced that they have reached an agreement on copyright cooperation for the new cycle of the World Cup. CCTV has obtained the exclusive all-media copyright for the 2026 and 2030 Men's World Cup and the 2027 and 2031 Women's World Cup in mainland China. It also has media sub-licensing qualifications.
The price of the rights to the World Cup has attracted much attention from the outside world, with various reports ranging from US$60 million to US$110 million.
FIFA Secretary General Matthias Grafström said in an interview that the details of the copyright agreement cannot be disclosed as it is an exclusive agreement between the two parties.
He only expressed that he was very satisfied with this cooperation and looked forward to continuing to work together to continue to provide Chinese fans with exciting football events. He also mentioned that there are more cooperation projects to be discussed in the future.
The events covered by this cooperation are full of gold content. The most watched 2026 US-Canada-Mexico World Cup will be held from June 12 to July 20, Beijing time. This is the first time in the history of the World Cup that the United States, Canada and Mexico will jointly host it.
The number of participating teams in this tournament has been expanded from 32 to 48, and 104 games will be played. The scale is the largest in the history of the World Cup. Fans will have a more intensive and rich viewing experience.
According to the agreement, CCTV's copyright covers all channels including open-circuit TV, pay TV, the Internet and mobile devices. It will rely on its omni-media communication matrix and professional production and broadcasting capabilities to present the wonderful moments of the four World Cups to domestic audiences in an all-round way.
At present, this copyright agreement has officially come into effect. The relevant person in charge of CCTV Sports Channel said that they are grateful to fans across the country for their long-term support. The team will use professional production and broadcasting standards and solid work to create high-quality event broadcasts and give back to the public's expectations.