The Chinese state broadcaster CCTV announced today (May 15th) that it has acquired the broadcasting rights for the World Cup, but did not disclose how much was spent, triggering questions from netizens. Informed sources revealed that the rights fee for this event is 60 million US dollars, but some netizens questioned that the actual expenditure might be higher. CCTV had faced difficulties in negotiations over the price previously, and there were rumors that they might not secure the broadcasting rights for the 2026 World Cup, sparking discussions.
According to the CCTV News report, China Central Television and the International Football Federation jointly announced on Friday (May 15th) that they had reached a consensus on the cooperation for the new cycle of the FIFA World Cup rights. The cooperative events include the 2026 World Cup, 2030 World Cup, 2027 Women’s World Cup, and 2031 Women’s World Cup.
As per the cooperation intention, CCTV confirmed that it has obtained the exclusive all-media rights for mainland China in this cycle of cooperative events, including terrestrial television, pay-TV, internet, and mobile devices.
The 2026 FIFA World Cup will be held from June 12th to July 20th in a joint effort by the United States, Canada, and Mexico, marking the first time in World Cup history that three countries will co-host the event. The number of participating teams for this edition has increased from 32 to 48, with a total of 104 matches scheduled, making it the largest in history.
However, the CCTV report did not disclose the amount spent to secure the broadcasting rights.
The Chinese sports information platform “Zhibo Ba” also reported earlier that China Central Television had acquired the rights to the 2026 World Cup in the US, Canada, and Mexico, but did not provide details on the fees. It was reported that FIFA Secretary-General Infantino had arrived in Beijing to participate in the negotiations for the broadcasting rights.
Mainland news outlet “The Paper” cited informed sources stating that the agreement between CCTV and FIFA for the World Cup had come into effect on the afternoon of the 15th. According to the agreement, the rights fee for the US-Canada-Mexico World Cup is 60 million US dollars (about 400 million Chinese yuan).
However, a well-known sports blogger “Unskilled Skateboarder” revealed that CCTV had finalized the broadcasting rights for this edition of the World Cup, with the final single-event rights fee being around 110 million US dollars (about 750 million Chinese yuan), and a sponsorship presentation is scheduled for the 17th.
Chinese netizens left comments, questioning the varying reports, “Is it really 110 million if other platforms say so?” “Is it 60 million or 110 million?” “I’m just curious about the amount paid.” “Why can’t the amount be disclosed? What’s being hidden? Afraid of public backlash or FIFA backlash?” “Why buy it when it’s optional to watch, 60 million can’t be further raised.” “They sold out at a spineless price, guess what the price is, quite easy to guess, a little less than the second offer, but more than 100 million.”
A mainland media outlet “21st Century Economic Report” mentioned in their invitation that on May 17th, China Central Television will hold an event in Beijing to announce the 2026 US-Canada-Mexico World Cup integrated media communication service plan.
Previously, according to reports from Chinese media, FIFA initially quoted a price of 250 to 300 million US dollars to CCTV, while CCTV’s budget might have been only around 60 to 80 million US dollars. Even after several rounds of negotiations, the amount had been reduced to 120 to 150 million US dollars, still a “huge gap” from CCTV’s expectations. The fact that CCTV could not afford the original price for the broadcasting rights for the 2026 World Cup is seen as a reflection of China’s economic slowdown and financial constraints. Many mainland netizens believe that people’s purchasing power is weak, and with struggles for survival, there are few people watching the World Cup.