FIFA World Cup 2026 will be one of, if not the most followed sporting events of the year, and it will be the largest World Cup in history, with 104 matches and 48 teams, more than the usual 32, in USA, Mexico, and Canada.
As usual, the TV rights for the World Cup are some of the most coveted, and they will be all over the place. In Spain, sport streaming platform DAZN, somewhat controversial by instability and raising prices, has just announced that they will broadcast the entirety of the World Cup.
"DAZN, the leading global sports entertainment platform, will exclusively distribute the GRUP MEDIAPRO channel on pay television in Spain, broadcasting all matches of the 2026 FIFA World Cup", the platform announced on Friday.
<social>https://x.com/DAZN_ES/status/2019736580223836316</social>
This means that all 104 matches between June 11 and July 19, whose rights are owned in Spain by Mediapro, will be broadcast on DAZN. It will be the only platform to watch the World Cup in its entirety; however, it doesn't mean that it will be the only place to watch the World Cup in the country that currently stands as favourite for the trophy.
World Cup matches that will be broadcast for free on RTVE
As announced in September 2025, Spanish public broadcaster RTVE has also bought the rights for the World Cup from Mediapro, to show on the public channel La 1. Not every match will be included, but they ensure that all matches featuring Spain in the group stage (duels with Cape Verde, Saudi Arabia and Uruguay) will be available in TVE, as well as the "main matches of the tournament". Those include the opening match with the Mexican debut, as well as "main" round of 16 and quarter-final games, both semi-finals, the match for third place and the final, on July 19 in New York.
In other countries, it is also expected that the public broadcasters will show the main matches and all of their own country's games for free on their public channels, thanks to deals between FIFA and the European Broadcasting Union (EBU).
However, the full slate of matches, more than ever before, may depend from country to country, and prices will surely also differ. Final deals will be announced in the coming months, including more details on plans for the "relaunched" FIFA+ platform between FIFA and DAZN, which will supposedly be free but limited worldwide with premium offers to be announced.