FIFA World Cup: BTV may broadcast tournament in Bangladesh
Discussions between the government and FIFA, the governing body of world football, are at the final stage regarding the live broadcast of the 2026 FIFA World Cup in Bangladesh.
If the decision is finalised, the state-owned broadcaster BTV will air the matches live. As a result, much of the uncertainty surrounding the viewing of FIFA World Cup matches in Bangladesh has been lessened.
Two sources from the Ministry of Information and BTV confirmed the matter to Prothom Alo today, Wednesday. However, none of the officials concerned agreed to speak publicly on the issue.
When asked, Information and Broadcasting Minister Zahir Uddin Swapan told Prothom Alo, “Discussions with all parties are progressing satisfactorily so that the public can watch the matches without spending public money.”
The biggest event in global football kicks off on 11 June.
The broadcasting rights for this year’s World Cup in Bangladesh had been acquired by Singapore-based company Springbok Pte Ltd. Bangladeshi companies were supposed to purchase the rights from the company in order to broadcast the matches in Bangladesh.
The company had sought approximately Tk 1.51 billion from BTV for the broadcasting rights. Including taxes, the amount would have been close to Tk 2 billion. However, the deal was ultimately not concluded.
Meanwhile, the Singapore-based company has relinquished the rights after failing to sell them.
Following this, the Bangladesh government began direct discussions with FIFA regarding the broadcasting of the World Cup. A source at the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting told Prothom Alo on Tuesday night that several rounds of discussions had taken place between high-level government officials and FIFA in an effort to obtain the broadcasting rights free of charge.
Senior officials from the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, the Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF), and BTV have been involved in the discussions.
The ministry source told Prothom Alo that it is hoped fans will be able to watch the matches. If the discussions are finalised, BTV will obtain the World Cup broadcasting rights. Private broadcasters wishing to air the matches would then acquire rights from BTV. The discussions may be finalised within the next one or two days.
Meanwhile, OTT platform Toffee will also stream the matches live. The company told Prothom Alo that Banglalink and Toffee have secured the digital broadcasting rights for the FIFA World Cup. Football fans, including Banglalink users, will be able to watch the matches on Toffee.
Alongside Bangladesh, millions of football fans in India and China had also faced uncertainty over watching the World Cup because of broadcasting rights complications. However, FIFA recently finalised a broadcasting agreement with China Media Group (CMG) covering the men's World Cups in 2026 and 2030, as well as the women's World Cups in 2027 and 2031.
FIFA has also signed an agreement with Zee Entertainment Enterprises in India.
According to BTV sources, in 2018 BTV broadcast the World Cup free of charge under the “package policy,” under which rights holders would broadcast the tournament through BTV.
However, that policy was abolished in 2022. As a result, ahead of that year’s World Cup, BTV received funding through a last-minute decision at the highest level of government. At the time, it purchased the broadcasting rights for Tk 98 crore under a “special budget.”