The FIFA World Cup was first broadcast on television in 1954 and is now the most widely viewed and followed sporting event in the world, exceeding even the Olympic Games.[1] 715.2 million individuals watched the final match of the 2006 tournament (representing 11 percent of the entire population of the planet). The 2006 World Cup draw, which decided the distribution of teams into groups, was watched by 300 million viewers.[2]
Country | Language | Editions | Broadcasters |
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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 | ||
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French Spanish |
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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 | ||
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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 + | ||
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Azerbaijani | 1994-1998 | Azerbaijan Television |
2002-2010 | Lider TV | ||
2014-2026 | AzTV, İTV | ||
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Portuguese | 1978–2026 | RTP Açores |
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Czech Slovak |
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German | ||
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German | ||
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German | ||
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Portuguese | 1974–2026 | RTP Madeira |
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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 | ||
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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 | ||
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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 | ||
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Serbo-Croatian Slovene Macedonian |
Country | Language | Editions | Broadcasters |
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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 |
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])
Country | Language | Editions | Broadcasters |
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English | 1970–1978 | ABC, Seven Network |
1982–1986 | ABC, SBS | ||
1990–1998 | SBS | ||
2002 | SBS, Nine Network | ||
2006 | SBS | ||
2010 | SBS, ESPN | ||
2014 | SBS | ||
2018 | SBS, Optus Sport | ||
2022–2026 | SBS | ||
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Country | Language | Editions | Broadcasters |
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Portuguese | 1978–1994 | TPA |
1998-2014 | TPA, RTP África | ||
2018–2026 | TPA, RTP África, Kwesé Sports, Canal+ Afrique, SuperSport, StarTimes | ||
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Portuguese | 1978-1986 | TEVEC |
1990-1994 | TNCV | ||
1998–2026 | RTC, RTP África | ||
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Portuguese Spanish |
1998–2026 | RTP África |
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Portuguese | 1998–2026 | RTP África |
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Portuguese | 1998–2026 | RTP África |
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Portuguese | 1998–2026 | RTP África |