The 2026 World Cup will take place in the US, Canada and Mexico from June 11 to July 19. As the football event gathering 48 teams from all continents approaches, the story of copyright becomes even more concerned. In Southeast Asia, some countries have completed this.
Singapore
The International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) confirmed that Mediacorp has ownership of the broadcasting rights for the 2026 World Cup in Singapore. People here can watch all 104 matches of the tournament at a price from 98 SGD (Singapore dollar). However, this offer is only for those who register early until April 30, and after that, customers who want to watch the tournament will have to pay 118 SGD.
According to Singaporean media, this price is equivalent to the 2022 World Cup. Customers can also register for the service through Mediacorp's distribution partners, Singtel and StarHub. Subscribers can watch live matches on existing devices such as smart TVs, tablets and smartphones via mewatch.
Indonesia
TVRI has ownership of the broadcasting rights for the 2026 World Cup in Indonesia. Matches will be broadcast continuously or simultaneously on TVRI Sport and TVRI Nasional channels from 11pm to 11am local time (WIT) daily.
TVRI President and Director Iman Brotoseno said that the 2026 World Cup will be broadcast for free to all Indonesian people, with full access. According to Sportcal, this is in line with the direction of the President of the Republic of Indonesia, who requested TVRI to provide entertainment programs for all Indonesian people throughout the World Cup.
Along with broadcasting on television, the Indonesian government plans to organize public live streaming events at various locations, in coordination with micro, small and medium-sized enterprises throughout the tournament to stimulate local economic activity.
Philippines, Timor Leste, Cambodia
According to FIFA, Aleph - a global digital advertising company, has won exclusive rights to broadcast the upcoming 2026 World Cup in the Philippines. The company will appoint media rights partners on all platforms, including free television, pay television, digital streaming, mobile and video on demand.
Two other countries in the region have also finalized the copyright for the 2026 World Cup: Cambodia (Hang Meas TV) and Timor Leste (ETO).
Waiting for Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia
According to FIFA, exclusive negotiations for the 2026 World Cup are underway in Vietnam. It is likely that VTV will own the copyright of this attractive tournament.
FIFA is also very interested in selling the tournament rights in some key markets in Southeast Asia such as Malaysia and Thailand. For Thailand, the 2026 World Cup is the first since Thailand's management agency, the National Radio and Television Commission, removed the World Cup finals from the "must-have" broadcast list, increasing the possibility that the matches may not be broadcast for free on television. According to Thai media, a private company is likely to own the tournament rights.
In Malaysia, people are also very interested in having the 2026 World Cup copyright soon. However, according to the country's media, the excessively high price of up to 50 million USD is the main reason why negotiations have not yet yielded results.
In addition to these countries, Myanmar, Brunei and Laos still do not have the broadcasting rights for the 2026 World Cup.
