Deutsche Telekom has secured the German broadcast rights for the FIFA Men’s World Cup 2026, the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2027, and the FIFA U20 Men’s World Cups in 2025 and 2027 – a package totalling 272 matches, making it the largest FIFA rights deal in German TV history.
The 2026 FIFA World Cup is scheduled to take place from 11 June to 19 July 2026, marking a historic milestone as the first-ever edition hosted jointly by three countries: the United States, Canada, and Mexico.
The agreement, of which financial details were not disclosed, grants Telekom exclusive rights to all 104 matches of the expanded 2026 tournament. All games will be shown live on the German telco’s domestic TV platform MagentaTV across all devices, regardless of whether they are at home, commuting, or on vacation.
Although MagentaTV will serve as the primary platform for full coverage, Telekom has confirmed that it is willing to sublicense rights to third-party broadcasters, just as it did for UEFA Euro 2024. “We are a commercial enterprise and will, of course, aim for refinancing,” said Wolfgang Metze, Telekom’s Managing Director Private Customers, in Berlin. “We are open to discussions.”
Telekom also held the rights to all matches during the UEFA Euro 2024 and subsequently negotiated sublicensing deals with public broadcasters ARD and ZDF as well as commercial broadcaster RTL.
Under German broadcasting law, certain major sporting events, in particular matches involving the German national team or the tournament final, must be shown free-to-air, meaning public broadcasters such as ARD and ZDF or commercial networks like RTL and ProSiebenSat.1 are likely to be part of the sublicensing mix. Alternatively, Telekom could unlock the matches on MagentaTV and make them available free-to-air on its own platform.
Arnim Butzen, Telekom’s Head of TV, said: “We are, of course, aware of the framework set out by the German media law, which requires certain matches to be shown on free-to-air TV. We look forward to those discussions and have already received several inquiries in recent days.”
The 2026 World Cup will feature a record 48 teams, making it the largest edition of the tournament to date. Butzen stressed the challenges and excitement of covering such an event: “We’re looking at 104 games over six weeks, across three time zones. It’s a logistical challenge, but one we’re ready to take on. We want to make this an unforgettable football festival for our customers.”
Telekom’s acquisition of the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup, to be hosted in Brazil, marks the first time the company will broadcast a women’s World Cup. Telekom sees this as a milestone and a commitment to expanding its portfolio to reflect the growing popularity of women’s football.
