BEIJING - China Media Group, the parent of China's state broadcaster, said on Friday (May 15) it had reached a World Cup broadcasting deal with Fifa, ending a standoff over TV rights less than a month before the men's tournament kicks off in the US, Mexico and Canada.
The package covers the 2026 and 2030 men's tournaments as well as the Women's World Cups in 2027 and 2031, state broadcaster CCTV said.
China has the world's largest football fan base with roughly 200 million people following the game.
Its men's team have reached the World Cup only once, in 2002, while its women's team have played in eight tournaments, finishing runners-up in 1999 after a penalty shootout loss to the US.
CMG has secured exclusive media and sub-licensing rights in mainland China for the four-tournament cycle, spanning free-to-air and paid TV as well as online and mobile platforms, CCTV said, without disclosing financial terms.
Football's world governing body Fifa on Friday confirmed the agreement with CMG, saying the broadcast of the tournament in China will reinforce the country's national youth development strategy but did not mention the cost of the deal.
"The Chinese market is of very big importance to the global football community. We know the passion of Chinese football fans and we're very happy and proud of our partnership with CMG to bring the World Cup to all fans in China," Fifa Secretary General Mattias Grafström said in a FIFA statement.
Broadcast rights for the upcoming tournament alone cost US$60 million (S$77 million), according to China's state-backed outlet The Paper.
The announcement of the deal quickly spread on Chinese social media, topping the trending list on Weibo - the country's X-like platform - with more than 27 million views within 45 minutes.
Some fans who had feared missing the matches expressed relief. "For the next two World Cups, we can finally watch them to our hearts' content," one Weibo user wrote.
For previous World Cups state broadcaster CCTV secured rights well in advance, rolling out promotional content and sponsor-led advertising weeks before kickoff.
FIFA earlier this month said it had concluded broadcast agreements in more than 175 territories worldwide, while negotiations in India are still ongoing.
CCTV has asked China Mobile's streaming platform Migu to sign a distribution deal for the 2026 World Cup, a source familiar with the matter said.
The source was unaware of the price or the terms of the agreement between CCTV and Fifa. Representatives of Migu could not immediately be reached for comment.
In 2018, CCTV sublicensed World Cup streaming rights to Migu and Alibaba's Youku, marking the first time it shared live digital rights with online platforms. For the 2022 tournament, CMG extended distribution rights to Migu, Douyin and several regional TV stations.
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