2026 World Cup Broadcast: JTBC & KBS Joint Coverage

JTBC and KBS Agree to Joint Broadcast of 2026 North, Central American World Cup

JTBC has reached an agreement with KBS for the joint broadcast of the 2026 North, Central American World Cup. JTBC had been in broadcast rights negotiations with the three terrestrial broadcasters, and as a result, signed a joint broadcast contract with KBS. The negotiation is reported to have been settled for 14 billion won. SBS and MBC are currently in negotiations with KBS under the same terms.

KBS stated, "Although a significant deficit is anticipated, we accepted JTBC's proposal to fulfill our duty as a public broadcaster." They added, "This is the result of our efforts to realize the value of the reception fee." KBS is continuing detailed technical negotiations with JTBC and plans to form a broadcast team including Jeon Hyun-moo and Lee Young-pyo.

Previously, JTBC secured exclusive broadcast rights for the Summer and Winter Olympics from 2026 to 2032 and for the World Cup from 2025 to 2030. They attempted to resell these rights to the three terrestrial broadcasters, but negotiations failed, leading to JTBC exclusively broadcasting the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympics. Amidst criticism for infringing upon the public's universal right to view, JTBC has been renegotiating with the three terrestrial broadcasters.

A JTBC official said, "With this agreement, the World Cup, which will be held in June, will be available for viewing on both the general programming channel (JTBC) and the terrestrial channel (KBS)." JTBC has made a final offer to MBC and SBS under the same terms as KBS and intends to continue negotiations.