Service | Dusseldorf · With 104 games, it will be the largest World Cup ever. The tournament in the US, Mexico and Canada presents copyright holders with a serious reporting challenge. Who will broadcast the World Cup on television and live? What kind of staff is there? Here’s all the information.
It will be the biggest World Cup of all time: 104 games, 48 teams, 36 days, 16 venues, four time zones, three host countries. This XXL tournament in the USA, Mexico and Canada (from June 11 to July 19) will also bring some challenges, but also reporting opportunities. Who is showing which World Cup games in Germany? What are the TV companies planning? What do the staff look like? We provide a comprehensive overview of the 2026 FIFA World Cup broadcast on television and stream.
Where can you watch the next 2026 World Cup games on TV and live?
The next games will take place today on the day of the 2026 FIFA World Cup. These channels broadcast:
- Ivory Coast – Norway, June 30, 19:00. – ARD/MagentaTV
- France – Sweden, June 30, 23:00. – MagentaTV
- Mexico – Ecuador, July 1, 3 am – MagentaTV
Who owns the rights to broadcast the 2026 FIFA World Cup?
In the German television market, Telekom has once again secured full rights to broadcast the 2026 FIFA World Cup in the USA, Mexico and Canada. The same thing happened at the home European Championship in 2024, when all 51 games were allowed to be shown on MagentaTV. As two years ago, public broadcasters ARD, ZDF and SportA (the joint sports rights agency of ARD and ZDF) have purchased the package from Telekom and will also cover the World Cup using this sub-license.
ARD sporting director Katrin Wernau says: “For millions of people in the country, the World Cup is a sporting event that they experience and celebrate together with other football fans.” And further: “I am very pleased that next year we will be able to offer this major social and sporting event again at ARD and ZDF. To this end, we are continuing our proven partnership with Telekom and sharing operating rights with each other. We need such common models, especially in economically difficult times.”
Which World Cup games will Magenta TV show?
In short: everything. As the main rights holder, Magenta TV will broadcast 104 games of the XXL World Cup, 44 of which will be exclusive. Exclusive games that will only be shown on Magenta TV include group games for the Netherlands against Japan, Brazil against Scotland and twelve play-off games.
These Magenta TV exclusive games are still coming out:
- France – Sweden, June 30, 23:00.
- Mexico – Ecuador, July 1, 15:00.
- USA – Bosnia and Herzegovina, July 2, 14:00.
- Portugal – Croatia, June 3, 1:00.
- Argentina – Cape Verde, July 4, 12:00.
- Three rounds of 16 games.
- Two quarterfinal games
- Game for 3rd place
The broadcasters for the 1/8 finals will be announced after the 1/8 finals.
30 photos
World Cup team on Magenta TV – all experts, presenters and commentators
Photo: Felix Hörhager/dpa/Felix Hörhager
Which World Cup games can you watch for free?
Magenta TV has announced that it will broadcast three World Cup games for free. An exclusive match between South Korea and UEFA qualifying on June 12, a duel between Tunisia and Japan on June 21 and a conference on the third day of the group match. In addition, 60 of the 104 games can be seen on free-to-air television and in ARD and ZDF broadcasts. (see below).
Who are the experts, presenters and commentators of Magenta TV?
Telecom has assembled a renowned team of experts, presenters and commentators to report on the World Cup. Laura Vontorra and Johannes B. Kerner, among others, will moderate the World Cup days. In addition to two world champions Mats Hummels and Thomas Müller, the team of experts also includes legendary coach Jurgen Klopp and former national team player Tabea Kemme. Commentators include Wolf Fuss, Marco Hagemann and Christian Strassburger.
What is Magenta TV planning for its coverage of the World Cup?
The broadcaster promises more than 1,000 hours of World Cup programming directly from the games, as well as from two television studios in New York (at One World Trade Center) and Munich. There are three different channels planned for the games: one with basic commentary, a tactics channel, and a “surprise channel” with rotating celebrities and experts. The broadcaster scheduled a conference for all twelve groups on the day of the third preliminary round match.
From 7am (German time) Magenta TV broadcasts the “Breakfast Club” with entertainment formats summing up the night’s games. The show is moderated alternately by Laura Hofmann and Sascha Bandermann. In addition, the documentary film “Vontorras World Championship. Father. Daughter. World Championship” will be released on May 14. with Laura and Jörg Vontorra in touch. The World Cup program itself on Magenta TV will begin on May 19 in the first formats.
In addition, MagentaTV, which exclusively broadcasts all three of Turkey’s games in the group stage, is planning “an additional extensive program specifically aimed at Turkish fans in Germany.”
What World Cup games are shown by ARD and ZDF?
Of the 104 World Cup games, 60 will be shown on television on ARD and ZDF. In any case, this includes all of Germany’s games, as well as the opening game, the final and the semi-final games. The World Cup will begin with the opening game between hosts Mexico and South Korea on June 11 (9:00 p.m.) on ZDF, and a day later on June 12 (9:00 p.m.) ARD will show next hosts Canada’s kickoff against Bosnia and Herzegovina. The World Cup final on July 19 (21:00) will be broadcast by ZDF.
Where can you watch DFB World Cup games on TV and streaming?
This XXL World Championship will see teams play eight games from the start of the preliminary round to a potential final. German games can be viewed as follows.
- Germany – Curacao; Sunday, June 14, 19:00. (ARD/Purple TV)
- Germany – Ivory Coast; Saturday, June 20, 22:00. (ZDF/Purple TV)
- Germany – Ecuador; Thursday, June 25, 22:00. (ARD/Purple TV)
Knockout phase (if Germany gets that far in the tournament)
- 1/8 finals: Germany – Paraguay; Monday, June 29, 22:30. (ZDF/Purple TV)
- 1/8 finals with the DFB team (ARD/Magenta TV)
- Quarter-finals with the DFB team (ZDF/Magenta TV)
- Semi-final with the DFB team (ARD/Magenta TV)
- Final with the DFB team (ZDF/Magenta TV)
Which employees report on the World Cup at ARD and ZDF?
ARD and ZDF rely primarily on their permanent staff for the World Cup. On the first, Esther Sedlacek moderates the top games in stadiums. The remaining games will be presented alternately by Lea Wagner and Malte Völz from the studio of the ARD Broadcasting Center in Cologne. Secondly, Jochen Breuer and Katrin Müller-Hohenstein take over the World Cup studio in Berlin.
ARD commentators are Tom Bartels, Christina Graf and Philipp Sommer. Claudia Neumann, Gary Paubandt, Oliver Schmidt and Martin Schneider sit behind the microphone at ZDF.
There are practically no changes in the composition of experts since the last tournaments. Number one on the first list is Bastian Schweinsteiger, with co-commentators Almut Schulte and Thomas Hitzlsperger. ZDF’s permanent team of experts includes Christoph Kramer, Friederike Kromp and Per Mertesacker. Former Freiburg coach Christian Streich is a newcomer to the second team.
In addition to live broadcasts of games, the television company’s main program includes reports from the German team’s training camp. Public broadcasters rely on new staff compared to EM 2024. Alex Schlüter is present at ARD and Lili Engels takes over moderation at ZDF. At MagentaTV, Thomas Wagner works as a reporter at the DFB camp in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
What rankings are expected by ARD and ZDF at the World Championships?
The World Cup virtually guarantees ratings for broadcasters. But at the tournament in Qatar, ARD and ZDF recorded a drop of about 40 percent compared to the previous World Cup in Russia. Example: In 2018, on average, the three DFB preliminary round games were watched by more than 25 million viewers; four years later, this figure was less than 15 million. “It is difficult to assess the coverage at this World Cup,” said ARD sports coordinator Axel Balkauski: “It mainly has to do with the start time of the match.”
Who else has the TV rights?
According to its own information, the bookmaker Tipico also shows games: “Only qualified users can follow the World Cup on Tipico live,” the company said in a statement. “Qualified users are all users who have funds in an active Tipico account or have placed a bet within the last 24 hours.” Tipico initially did not provide any information about the size of the required bet or the technical details of broadcasting World Cup games.