With just 30 days remaining before the start of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, uncertainty continues to surround its television broadcast in Bangladesh, raising fears that millions of football fans in the country may be unable to watch the tournament on television.
According to media reports, no Bangladeshi television network or broadcasting platform has yet secured the rights to air the World Cup.
The Singapore-based company Springbok Private Limited, which holds the media rights for the tournament in the region, is reportedly demanding around Tk 151 crore for the broadcasting rights. With taxes and VAT included, the total cost could rise to nearly Tk 200 crore.
Broadcasters in Bangladesh are said to be concerned primarily about the exceptionally high price, the limited advertising market and the tournament schedule.
Under the current fixture list, nearly half of the 104 matches are expected to take place during the early hours of the morning in Bangladesh time, reducing commercial viability for local channels.
Information and Broadcasting Minister Zahir Uddin Swapon stated, “given the present economic realities, the BNP government is not currently interested in purchasing the broadcasting rights."
Meanwhile, several broadcasters, including T Sports, have reportedly shown interest in acquiring the rights at a reduced price, though no agreement has yet been reached.
A senior BTV official, who requested anonymity, said, “Springbok has sent us a proposal worth Tk151 crore. Including tax and VAT, the amount will be around Tk200 crore, which would be very difficult for BTV to pay.
He added, “BTV can’t buy the World Cup broadcast rights for so much money. BTV’s annual budget is Tk3 crore. If we spend Tk2 crore only on broadcast rights, how will the station run?”
“Most importantly, BTV will not be able to make a profit after buying the rights at such a high price. It will face a major loss,” he further added.
BTV bought the broadcast rights for the 2022 Qatar World Cup for Tk98 crore. But the state television channel later suffered a big financial loss from that deal.
The official continued, “BTV had to face a big loss after buying the broadcast rights for the Qatar World Cup. We earned some money from advertisements, but we could not recover the full investment."
“The loss was big. Now, if the government decides to show the World Cup on BTV, then it may be possible. Otherwise, there is no other option at the moment,” he said.
If the World Cup is not broadcast in Bangladesh, many football fans in the country may miss the tournament on television.
The World Cup is scheduled to begin on 11 June. Unless a resolution is found before then, millions of football supporters in Bangladesh could be deprived of watching the tournament on television.
Even besides Bangladesh, millions of football supporters in India and China remain uncertain about whether the 2026 FIFA World Cup will be televised in their countries, as broadcasters have yet to finalise agreements with FIFA.
It is highly unusual for broadcasting rights deals for an event of such global significance to remain unresolved only weeks before the tournament begins.
Agreements of this scale are ordinarily concluded months and often years ahead of the opening match.
Local media reports in both countries suggest that negotiations between FIFA and broadcasters remain deadlocked over the cost of securing the rights to air the tournament.
The BBC reported, ‘FIFA confirmed that discussions in China and India are ongoing and must remain confidential at this stage, though it declined to comment on the financial terms under negotiation.”
According to FIFA, agreements have already been completed in 180 territories worldwide. However, a small number of markets, including India and China, have yet to secure broadcasting rights for the tournament, despite accounting for roughly one-third of the global population.
Reports indicate that FIFA’s initial asking price for Chinese state broadcaster China Central Television (CCTV) was as high as 300 million US dollars (£220 million).
“FIFA has since reduced its demand to between 120 million and 150 million US dollars. Even so, the revised figure is reportedly more than double CCTV’s allocated budget for the competition,” State-run newspaper Beijing Daily reported.
The newspaper also noted that public interest in the World Cup may be lower in China given the national team’s failure to qualify for the tournament.
Although no formal agreement has yet been reached with an Indian broadcaster, local media reports this week suggested that a deal could be announced in the near future.
