MagentaTV Teams Up with ARD and ZDF to Broadcast 2026 FIFA World Cup in Germany
Deutsche Telekom's MagentaTV sublicenses 60 World Cup matches to ARD and ZDF, ensuring free-to-air coverage for key games including German team matches, complementing MagentaTV's full tournament streaming rights.
- • MagentaTV holds full 2026 World Cup rights with all 104 matches streamed live.
- • ARD and ZDF sublicensed rights to broadcast 60 matches, splitting coverage evenly.
- • Free-TV coverage includes all German national team matches if they qualify and key matches mandated by law.
- • Johannes B. Kerner will host the World Cup coverage on ARD and ZDF.
Key details
Deutsche Telekom's MagentaTV has entered a sublicensing agreement with Germany's public broadcasters ARD and ZDF to share the rights for broadcasting the 2026 FIFA World Cup. This marks a continuation of Telekom's strategy to combine exclusive streaming with free-to-air coverage to reach a broad German audience.
MagentaTV holds the primary broadcasting rights for the entire tournament, which will take place from June 11 to July 19, 2026, across Canada, Mexico, and the United States. All 104 matches will be available live on MagentaTV's streaming platform. However, under Germany's media regulations requiring key matches to remain accessible on free television, ARD and ZDF will each broadcast 30 matches, totaling 60 games, including all matches featuring the German national team, provided they qualify.
The sublicensing arrangement mirrors previous World Cup coverage models, ensuring that high-interest games, such as the opening match, both semi-finals, and the final, are easily accessible on free-to-air channels. Johannes B. Kerner will return as the host of the coverage for ARD and ZDF.
MagentaTV had previously faced challenges with technical issues during exclusive broadcasts, which has influenced the decision to involve public broadcasters and provide some matches on platforms like YouTube to safeguard viewer access.
Reports also note that the rights deal involved a rights exchange with MagentaTV trading some European Championship broadcasting liabilities for World Cup sublicensing rights to ARD and ZDF. Discussions about other market players like RTL Deutschland potentially bidding for Free-TV rights remain unclear. Additionally, broadcast timing challenges exist due to the significant time zone differences between the US-Canada-Mexico host countries and German viewers.
This agreement ensures that while dedicated World Cup fans can access every match live and in full on MagentaTV, the wider public will not miss classic and culturally significant matches on traditional free-to-air German channels, maintaining free access in line with legal mandates and past broadcasting traditions.