M6 will broadcast unencrypted the 2026 and 2030 Football World Cups, for which the channel acquired the broadcasting rights at the expense of TFI, historic broadcaster of the competition.
“We have obtained the rights to the 2026 World Cup (…) and also the 2030 World Cup. These are two World Cups which will be broadcast for free on M6”, welcomed its president, Nicolas de Tavernost on RTL, a radio station of the M6 group. Information on the broadcast of the 2026 World Cup on M6 leaked on Tuesday.
Asked to say whether M6 was going to hand over the rights to certain matches to TF1, he kicked in, after recalling that the two channels shared the broadcast of Euro 2024, which will take place in Germany from June 14 to July 14.
“Our competitor did not wish to continue sharing, which is why we took our responsibilities (…) to have for the first time the completeness, the exclusivity of the matches in clear text »said Mr. Tavernost.
If TF1 did not buy any matches from M6, it would be a shock in the audiovisual and sporting landscape: it would be the first time that the first channel, created in 1975, would not broadcast any World Cup match.
A price “below what was practiced”
The amount paid by M6 was not revealed. According to RMC Sportwho revealed the information on Tuesday, it is ” very high “. Mr. Tavernost simply assured that the estimate of 175 million euros which circulated was “totally false”. “We are rather below what has been practiced until now on the market”did he declare.
For the last edition, in 2022, TF1 spent around 70 million euros. Its total offer coupled with that of BeIN for paying rights was estimated at 130 million euros.
The 2026 World Cup will be jointly hosted by Canada, the United States and Mexico. It will be played for the first time in a format expanded to 48 teams, compared to 32 previously, and will offer 104 matches.
The call for tenders from the International Football Federation (FIFA) opened on January 9 and closed on February 13. It therefore concerned the rights of the 2026 World Cup and those of the 2030 World Cup, which will take place mainly in Spain, Morocco and Portugal.
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Until now, M6 has only broadcast World Cup matches once, during the 2006 edition. The channel also broadcasts part of the Euro matches, the European football championship. nations, since the 2008 edition.