Mediacorp secures broadcast rights to 2026 World Cup; 28 matches will be free to air
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The 2026 World Cup will see a record 48 teams competing across three countries, Canada, Mexico and the United States.
PHOTO: REUTERS
- Mediacorp secured media rights for FIFA events from 2026-2028, including the 2026 and 2027 events.
- Free-to-air coverage will expand, with 28 matches shown on Channel 5 and mewatch, up from nine in 2022.
- The 2026 World Cup features 48 teams and 104 matches across Canada, Mexico, and the United States.
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SINGAPORE – Football fans in Singapore will get to watch more free-to-air matches during the 2026 World Cup
Under the agreement, Mediacorp will screen all 104 matches and official ceremonies of the 2026 World Cup, all 64 matches and ceremonies of the 2027 Women’s World Cup, and other events such as the Under-17 and U-20 World Cups for both genders.
In its statement, Mediacorp said it will “substantially expand free coverage of the matches on mewatch and Channel 5”, with the number of free-to-air matches increasing from nine in 2022 to 28 in 2026.
These will comprise the opening match, 23 group-stage games, the two semi-finals, third-place play-off and the final.
The 2026 World Cup will see a record 48 teams competing across three countries, Canada, Mexico and the United States, with the total number of games increasing from 64 for the 32-team edition in Qatar to 104 this time around.
In response to The Straits Times’ queries, a Mediacorp spokesperson said that all 28 free-to-air matches will be available on mewatch without the need to log in or create an account.
The spokesperson added: “For access to the full tournament coverage of all 104 matches, viewers will need a mewatch account and valid subscription.”
More details on cross-carriage partners, subscription plans and prices will be announced later, said the national broadcaster.
A Singtel Singapore spokesperson said: “Singtel is aware of Mediacorp’s announcement regarding FIFA World Cup 2026. We are currently in discussions with Mediacorp and will share more information with customers when details are confirmed.”
ST has also contacted StarHub for comment.
In 2022, local telcos StarHub and Singtel had a three-way partnership with Mediacorp to broadcast all matches at the Qatar World Cup.
A package then cost $98 with an early-bird promotion, and $118 thereafter – a slight increase from the $94 (early bird) and $112 consumers paid in 2018.
Matches at the 2026 World Cup will kick off between midnight and noon (Singapore time).
The opening match between Mexico and South Africa will kick off at 3am on June 12, with the semi-finals and final also at 3am on July 15, 16 and 20 respectively (all Singapore time).
Nicholas Tan, 32, who works in the finance industry, said having 28 games on free to air comes as an “unexpected bonus”.
Noting that he will watch only key games such as the semi-finals and final due to the early timings, Tan added: “I don’t think I will be subscribing to the full package when it becomes available, I am happy enough and in fact thrilled that we can watch this many matches for free in Singapore.
“It will be tough to follow all the matches anyway because of the time difference.”
Business development executive Shakthi Balan, 29, also welcomed the news, but he is wary of how much it will cost to watch the entire tournament.
Shakthi, who is rooting for a 41-year-old Cristiano Ronaldo to spur the Portugal team to victory at the tournament, said: “With more matches, I think the price will be quite high. But I hope I am wrong.”
“The World Cup is one tournament where most people will watch from the opening match until the final, especially the knockout stages, where it gets really exciting,” he added.
Asked how much it paid for the 2026 World Cup broadcast rights, the Mediacorp spokesperson said that it was “unable to share as this is commercially confidential”.
According to reports, Australia’s SBS paid A$30million (S$26.6 million) to secure the rights, while Spanish broadcaster RTVE outbid its rivals with its €55 million (S$82.6 million) offer.
Veteran economist Song Seng Wun, who is an economic adviser at Singapore-based fintech platform SDAX, said it is “inevitable” that there are more matches being made free to air.
He predicts that consumers here will likely have to pay “slightly more” for the full World Cup package than in 2022.
Song said: “Maybe it will cost about five to 10 per cent more than the last World Cup. It is still a sizeable amount to be paying to watch games in the early morning but on a per-match basis, it is cheaper because you are paying more but for a lot more matches.”
James Walton, sports business group leader of Deloitte Asia Pacific and South-east Asia, was also not surprised by the increase in number of free-to-air matches, noting that this is the trend everywhere with the increase in tournament size and duration.
Walton, however, anticipates a bigger hike in the package price due to the longer tournament.
“My guess is that it will cost about $140-$150, unless the telcos decide that they want to use this as a recruitment drive, given how many people are moving away from this kind of TV packages and moving towards Netflix and things like this,” he said.
