Europe
| Country | Language | Editions | Broadcasters |
|---|---|---|---|
 Albania
|
Albanian | 1962–1990 | RTSH RTSH Televizioni |
| 1994–2002 | RTSH TVSH | ||
| 2006 | Top Channel, SuperSport | ||
| 2010 | RTSH TVSH, TVSH2 Top Channel, SuperSport | ||
| 2014 | RTSH TVSH, TVSH2, RTSH Sport Top Channel, SuperSport | ||
| 2018–2026 | RTSH RTSH1, RTSH2, RTSH3, RTSH Sport | ||
 Andorra
|
French Spanish |
||
 Armenia
|
Armenian | 1994 | Armenian Television Channel 1, Channel 2 |
| 1998 | Armenian Television Channel 1, Nork TV | ||
| 2002 | Public Television Company of Armenia Channel 1 | ||
| 2006 | Public Television Company of Armenia Channel 1, New Channel | ||
| 2010 | Public Television Company of Armenia Channel 1, Ararat TV | ||
| 2014-2026 | Public Television Company of Armenia Armenia 1 | ||
 Austria
|
German | 1958 | ORF ORF Fernsehen |
| 1962-1966 | ORF ORF Fernsehen, ORF Versuchsprogramm | ||
| 1970-1990 | ORF ORF Fernsehen 1, ORF Fernsehen 2 | ||
| 1994 | ORF ORF 1, ORF 2 | ||
| 1998 | ORF ORF 1, ORF 2, TW1, ORF SAT | ||
| 2002 | ORF ORF 1, ORF 2, TW1 | ||
| 2006-2010 | ORF ORF 1, ORF 2, ORF Sport Plus | ||
| 2014-2018 | ORF ORF eins, ORF 2, ORF III, ORF Sport + | ||
| 2022-2026 | ORF ORF 1, ORF 2, ORF III, ORF Sport + | ||
 Azerbaijan
|
Azerbaijani | 1994-1998 | Azerbaijan Television |
| 2002-2010 | Lider TV | ||
| 2014-2026 | AzTV, İTV | ||
 Azores
|
Portuguese | 1978–2026 | RTP Açores |
 Czechoslovakia
|
Czech Slovak |
||
 Germany
|
German | ||
 East Germany
|
German | ||
| West Germany
|
German | ||
 Madeira
|
Portuguese | 1974–2026 | RTP Madeira |
 Portugal
|
Portuguese | 1962-1966 | RTP |
| 1970-1974 | RTP RTP I Programa, RTP II Programa | ||
| 1978-1986 | RTP RTP1, RTP2 | ||
| 1990 | RTP RTP Canal 1, RTP Canal 2 | ||
| 1994 | RTP Canal 1, TV2 | ||
| 1998 | RTP RTP1, RTP2 | ||
| 2002 | RTP RTP1, RTP2 Sport TV PortugalTV | ||
| 2006 | RTP RTP1, 2: SIC Sport TV PortugalTV | ||
| 2010-2014 | RTP RTP1, RTP2 Sport TV PortugalTV | ||
| 2018 | RTP RTP1, RTP2, RTP3 SIC Sport TV PortugalTV | ||
| 2022-2026 | RTP RTP1, RTP2, RTP3 SIC Sport TV | ||
 Soviet Union
|
Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian, Uzbek, Kazakh, Georgian, Azerbaijani, Lithuanian, Moldavian, Latvian, Kyrgyz, Tajik, Armenian, Turkmen, Estonian |
1958-1966 | Central Television of the USSR CT USSR Programme 1, CT USSR Programme 2, CT USSR Programme 3 Armenian Television Channel 1, Baku Television Studio |
| 1970-1978 | Central Television of the USSR CT USSR Programme 1, CT USSR Programme 2, CT USSR Programme 3 Armenian Television Channel 1, Azerbaijan Television | ||
| 1982-1990 | Central Television of the USSR CT USSR Programme 1, CT USSR Programme 2, CT USSR Moscow Programme Armenian Television Channel 1, Azerbaijan Television | ||
 United Kingdom
|
English | 1966–1982 | BBC BBC1, BBC2 ITV |
| 1986–1990 | BBC BBC1, BBC Two, S4C ITV | ||
| 1994 | BBC BBC1, BBC2, S4C ITV Eurosport | ||
| 1998 | BBC BBC One, BBC Two, S4C ITV | ||
| 2002–2010 | BBC BBC One, BBC Two, S4C ITV ITV1, ITV2 | ||
| 2014–2026 | BBC BBC One, BBC Two, S4C ITV ITV, ITV2 | ||
 Yugoslavia
|
Serbo-Croatian Slovene Macedonian |
Andorra
- (see France and Spain)
Armenia
Austria
Azerbaijan
Belarus
Belgium
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bulgaria
Croatia
Cyprus
Czech Republic
Czechoslovakia
Denmark
East Germany
Estonia
Finland
France
- 2014–present: beIN Sports
- 2002–2006: Eurosport France
- 2006: M6
- 1994–1998, 2010: France Télévisions
- 1998, 2006–2010: Canal+
- 1978–1990: FR3
- 1978–1990: Antenne 2
- 1978–present: TF1
- 1966–1974: ORTF
- 1954–1962: RTF
Georgia
Germany
- 2014–2018: Sky Sport
- 2010: RTL
- 2002–2010: Premiere/Sky
- 1994–present: ARD and ZDF
- 2022: Deutsche Telekom
Greece
Hungary
Iceland
Ireland
Italy
Kosovo
- 2010–present: Radio Televizioni i Kosovës
Latvia
Liechtenstein
- (see Switzerland)
Lithuania
Luxembourg
- (see Belgium)
Macedonia
Malta
Moldova
Montenegro
Netherlands
Norway
Poland
- 2010–present: TVP (all 64 matches)
- 2002–2006: TVP (12 matches in 2002, 32 matches in 2006) and Polsat Sport (all 64 matches)
- 1974–1998: TVP
- 1970: TP (old TVP name)(final only, on a three-day tape-delay)
- 1966: TP (old TVP name)
Portugal
| Country | Language | Editions | Broadcasters |
|---|---|---|---|
| Portugal
|
Portuguese | 1962-1966 | RTP |
| 1970-1974 | RTP RTP I Programa, RTP II Programa | ||
| 1978-1986 | RTP RTP1, RTP2 | ||
| 1990 | RTP RTP Canal 1, RTP Canal 2 | ||
| 1994 | RTP Canal 1, TV2 | ||
| 1998 | RTP RTP1, RTP2 | ||
| 2002 | RTP RTP1, RTP2 Sport TV PortugalTV | ||
| 2006 | RTP RTP1, 2: SIC Sport TV PortugalTV | ||
| 2010-2014 | RTP RTP1, RTP2 Sport TV PortugalTV | ||
| 2018 | RTP RTP1, RTP2, RTP3 SIC Sport TV PortugalTV | ||
| 2022-2026 | RTP RTP1, RTP2, RTP3 SIC Sport TV |
Romania
Russia
- 2018: Channel One, VGTRK, Match TV
- 2014: Channel One, All-Russia State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company
- 2010: Channel One (26 matches), All-Russia State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company (38 matches)
- 1998–2006: Channel One, All-Russia State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company
- 1994: Channel One Ostankino, Russia-1
SFR Yugoslavia
San Marino
- (see Italy)
Serbia
Slovakia
Slovenia
Spain
- 2022: TVE
- 2018: Telecinco, Cuatro and Be Mad TV
- 2014: Telecinco, Cuatro and Gol Televisión
- 2010: Telecinco, Cuatro and Digital+
- 2006: laSexta, Cuatro and Digital+
- 2002: Antena 3 and Vía Digital
- 1962–1998: TVE
Soviet Union
Sweden
Switzerland
Turkey
Ukraine
United Kingdom
Over 100 nations have provided wall-to-wall coverage since the communications satellite launchings allowed for worldwide coverage beginning in 1966. European coverage of the World Cup has been extensive since 1954 (though with the World Cup held in Chile in 1962, much of the Euro coverage that year was tape-delayed).
Broadcasts of the qualification for the World Cup Finals for England is currently held by ITV (terrestrial, home and away matches) with Sky holding rights for home and away matches for Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. These were previously held by the BBC but BBC have highlights of each home nation in their respective nation so BBC Scotland show Scotland highlights, BBC Wales show Wales highlights and BBC Northern Ireland show NI highlights.
However, coverage of the World Cup Finals is on a government mandated 'protected' list meaning it must be shown on free-to-air terrestrial television (BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Five) as opposed to satellite or cable television.[3] Although only one broadcaster is required, the two biggest terrestrial operators, the BBC and ITV, have always made a joint bid for coverage with broadcast of the Home Nations matches (particularly England) alternating between the broadcasters up to the later stages of the tournament. This is believed to prevent an extremely expensive bidding war for coverage between the two networks, with the current agreement running until the 2022 tournament.
In addition, when matches involved Scotland or Northern Ireland the BBC or ITV franchise holder in that area (Scottish TV, Grampian, Border or Ulster / UTV) would provide their own commentary team and presenters for those games. (Wales has not qualified since 1958, when television broadcasting was more limited.[4])
Notes
- In the 2006 World Cup, ITV showed two of England's three group games, with the BBC showing one. However, the BBC would then have shown England through to the final, had they made it; this would have been on an exclusive basis for the round of 16 and the quarter finals (the latter being the round where England were actually eliminated), with coverage of the semi-final and final being shared with ITV.[5] The same method was used for the 2010 World Cup, where ITV showed the first two England games, and the BBC would have shown the next two, with England's semi final shared on both channels and the Final as well, but with England eliminated in the second round, the BBC instead had the first choice of the two quarter finals, and ITV the choice of a semi final and the third place match, with both channels showing the Final.
- For the 2014 World Cup the BBC showed England's first match against Italy with ITV showing the other 2 matches against Uruguay and Costa Rica. BBC had first choice for the 2nd round while ITV had first choice quarter final so if England got to the Quarters, which they didn't, the match would have been exclusively live on ITV.
- For the 2018 World Cup the BBC showed England's first 2 games against Tunisia and Panama respectively with ITV showing the one remaining group stage match against Belgium. The BBC carried the quarterfinal with Sweden. ITV aired the semi-final against Croatia and the third-place play-off with Belgium.
- ITV have had several sponsors over the years. For the 1990 World Cup, in one of the first sponsorship deals in British TV history, coverage was sponsored by National Power. Coverage of the 1994 World Cup was sponsored by electronics company Panasonic, whilst car company Vauxhall sponsored the 1998 World Cup. This was the first year actual idents were shown, as opposed to just the company logo, and featured comical exchanges between players dubbed over in suitable accents. Travelex sponsored their coverage of the 2002 World Cup, and would also go on to sponsor their coverage of the 2003 Rugby World Cup. For the 2006 World Cup, there were two sponsors for the first time – Budweiser and EDF Energy. The latter would, like Travelex, go on to sponsor the 2007 Rugby World Cup along with Peugeot. In 2010, Hyundai and Lucozade Sport were the sponsors, with Hyundai having a Car World Cup tournament, which was eventually won by Spain. The former's stings were narrated by Peter Brackley. The 2014 World Cup had three sponsors for the first time, Sony, Carling and Santander. Carling would have a brief spell of sponsoring England matches on ITV, replacing Continental Tyres before being replaced by Screwfix. 2018 also had three, with Budweiser, adopting their international campaign, Volkswagen, with a series of idents about a confident man getting 'England Champions 2018' tattooed onto him, and Screwfix, sponsors of England's Qualifiers and Friendlies, with puns on famous England players performed by customers.
