EBU secures 2026, 2030 FIFA World Cup rights in five nations

The European Broadcast Union (EBU), the umbrella body of free-to-air broadcasters, has secured TV and radio broadcast rights to the 2026 and 2030 editions of soccer’s iconic FIFA World Cup in five territories.

The EBU member TV and radio broadcasters in Bulgaria (BNT, BNR), Czechia (Cesky Rozhlas, Ceska Televize), Croatia (HRT), and Hungary (Duna, MTVA), will all broadcast the tournaments through the new rights deal, while the Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation will hold rights in that country only for the 2026 edition.

Coverage of the tournaments in the five territories will be supplemented by additional content provided by the EBU’s Eurovision News network, which will provide shoulder content and ancillary programming around World Cup fixtures.

FIFA’s relationship with the EBU most recently saw the broadcast alliance secure broadcast rights for FIFA’s 2023 Women’s World Cup in a number of its key European territories.

With 112 member organizations from 54 countries, and 30 associate members from a further 19 countries, the EBU is one of the biggest players when it comes to securing media rights for the biggest sports tournaments.

The EBU had previously secured broadcast rights for the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

The 2026 tournament will be held across the US, Mexico, and Canada, while in 2030 it will be staged jointly by Morocco, Portugal, and Spain, with matches also to take place in South America.

Outside of soccer, this month the EBU announced the renewal of its rights deal to show European road cycling through 2030 across 13 markets. Sportcal