Foreign media: With less than five weeks until the opening of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, negotiations between CCTV and FIFA over broadcasting rights remain deadlocked. In stark contrast to the previous two tournaments, when CCTV secured rights well in advance and launched large-scale promotional campaigns weeks ahead, this year's event has seen almost no publicity in China.
The core issue lies in the huge gap between the parties' price demands. FIFA is reportedly asking for as much as $300 million, while CCTV expects to pay only around $80 million—nearly a fourfold difference. Faced with such a significant discrepancy, most domestic fans have shown strong support for CCTV’s firm stance, arguing that public funds should not be handed over to FIFA as an easy "cash cow".
In fact, even if a broadcasting rights agreement were reached, viewership prospects would still be far from promising. China once again failed to qualify for the tournament, and due to time zone differences—most matches are scheduled to kick off between 3 a.m. and noon Beijing time—the appeal to viewers is greatly diminished. Some fans have openly expressed on social media: "Why get up in the middle of the night to drink and watch football when there's no Chinese team involved?"
Notably, during the 2022 Qatar World Cup, China accounted for as high as 49.8% of total viewing time across global digital and social platforms, underscoring the importance of this market to FIFA. Today, many fans say they can simply watch the games online for free without having to pay for broadcasting rights.
Original article: toutiao.com/article/1864417709176840/
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author.