In a significant development, Malaysian free-to-air (FTA) broadcaster RTM and IPTV service Unifi TV have secured domestic rights to the 2026 FIFA World Cup national teams soccer tournament. This marks a shift from previous years when Astro held the broadcasting rights.
Unifi TV, operated by Unifi, a Malaysian internet service provider owned by Telekom Malaysia, will broadcast all 104 matches live. In contrast, RTM will air most of the matches either live or on a delayed basis. The country’s communications minister, Datuk Fahmi Fadzil announced that the tournament would be aired across multiple platforms including MyTV, RTM Klik and Unifi TV to ensure widespread national coverage. The Malaysian government has allocated RM24 million ($6.1 million) for securing these rights.
Malaysian communications minister, Datuk Fahmi Fadzil, said:
“The government is committed to ensuring all Malaysians can enjoy the 2026 FIFA World Cup in an inclusive, legitimate, and comprehensive manner. To achieve this, the government has decided to collaborate with the private sector to ensure high-quality broadcasting and wide reach.”
Astro's two-decade reign ends
Astro had been broadcasting the prestigious event for two decades but was outbid this year despite holding rights for both 2018 and 2022 World Cups. The pay-TV operator claimed it made a "fair and competitive bid" but expressed disappointment at its offer not being accepted.
Astro cited rising broadcast rights fees and piracy as reasons for not increasing its bid further. It stated that escalating international sports broadcasting rights have significantly increased financial investment requirements while rampant piracy has diminished such right's value to legitimate platforms. Fahmi also emphasized on piracy issues stating that all parties are urged to act responsibly with enforcement actions set to be strengthened against any violations of anti-piracy regulations related to tournament content.
Despite losing out on the main broadcasting rights, Astro is still hopeful about providing some World Cup coverage through discussions with right holders about carrying some matches on its platforms like NJOI free-to-air service and Sooka streaming app.
Global broadcasting deals for FIFA World Cup
FIFA has been concluding several late World Cup deals recently, including tie-ups with Television Jamaica, Vietnam Television and pay-TV operator SportyTV in South Africa. In South Korea, public broadcaster KBS agreed a sub-license deal with pay-TV network JTBC to provide free-to-air coverage.
However, FIFA is yet to sign broadcast deals in China and India - the world's two most populous nations. A deadlock in negotiations with the Reliance-Disney heavyweight media group has stalled a deal in India while no official decision has been made regarding coverage in China.
Despite these pending decisions, FIFA has already agreed on broadcast deals across over 175 territories globally for the tournament scheduled between June 11 and July 19 across the US, Mexico and Canada.
