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World Cup 2026: Spain defeats the brave ÖFB! Netz attacks the DFB team
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At the 2026 FIFA World Cup, not all games will be broadcast live on free-to-air television. Some games will be broadcast exclusively on pay TV MagentaTV.
The 2026 FIFA World Cup will not be shown in its entirety on free-to-air television in Germany.
ARD and ZDF broadcast live a total of 60 of the 104 games, including all of Germany’s games, the opening game, the semi-finals and the final. But if you really want to watch every World Cup game, you need MagentaTV.
Telekom’s streaming service is showing all 104 games of the 2026 FIFA World Cup live. 44 games are shown exclusively on MagentaTV. and therefore not parallel to ARD or ZDF.
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World Cup 2026: MagentaTV exclusively shows these games in the round of 16 and round of 16 matches.
Most playoff games are broadcast on public television. However, all games can still only be viewed on MagentaTV. These include, but are not limited to, the following round of 16 and round of 16 games.
Argentina vs Cape Verde (on the night from Friday to Saturday at 00:00)
Paraguay vs France (July 4 from 22:00)
Brazil vs Norway (July 5 from 22:00)
Mexico vs England (from July 5 to July 6 from 2:00 am)
How many World Cup games will MagentaTV exclusively show?
MagentaTV will show the entire 2026 World Cup 44 exclusive games. These include, among others six 1/8 finals, three 1/8 finals and two quarter-finals. A complete list of all exclusive games has not yet been determined.
ARD and ZDF together show 60 games on free-to-air television and in their streaming offerings. This includes all Germany games, the opening game, the semi-finals and the final.
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World Cup 2026: Will Germany’s games be shown exclusively on MagentaTV?
No. Germany’s games are also broadcast on MagentaTV, but not exclusively. They can also be seen on free-to-air television on the ARD or ZDF channels. The reason for this, among other things, is that Germany’s World Cup games must be shown on free-to-air television.
Germany will play in the group stage against Curacao, Ivory Coast and Ecuador. Therefore, German group games are not exclusive to MagentaTV.
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Which World Cup games are shown free on free-to-air TV?
A total of 60 games are shown on free-to-air television on the ARD and ZDF channels. This includes:
all games of the German national team
introductory game
other group games and knockout games selected
both semi-finals
final
The 2026 FIFA World Cup Final will take place on 19 July 2026 and will be broadcast live on the ZDF channel and the ZDF streaming portal.
World Cup: Turkish fans need MagentaTV
For fans of the Turkish national team, the situation on television is clear: All three group games of the Turkish national team Currently running exclusively on MagentaTV. This applies to group games against Australia, Paraguay and the USA. MagentaTV is also planning a special with Turkish commentary and guests.
Why won’t the 2026 FIFA World Cup be shown in its entirety on free-to-air TV?
The fact that not all World Cup games are broadcast on free-to-air television is primarily due to the fact that Deutsche Telekom acquired exclusive general rights to the World Cup.
For cost reasons, public broadcasters ARD and ZDF have only purchased sublicenses for some games.
However, according to the Public Media Treaty (formerly the Public Broadcasting Treaty), certain games must be shown on free-to-air television, including: The opening game, all Germany games, as well as the semi-finals and final..
What this means for fans is that the most important free TV games are covered, but not every game can be watched without a subscription.
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