Soccer’s FIFA governing body has narrowly avoided a World Cup media blackout in Thailand after securing a rights deal with Thai Telecoms firm Jasmine International (JAS) and media group Mono on the day of the tournament’s first game.
The deal was first teased by Pitch Potaramik, a major shareholder of JAS and Mono, who used his social media account yesterday to announce: “2026, Thailand will get to watch the World Cup.”
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The deal was then confirmed earlier today after JAS distributed a media invitation for a press conference to Thai news outlets titled “JAS secures FIFA World Cup 2026 rights,” where the company’s executives officially unveiled the agreement at 3 pm local time.
At the press conference, JAS chief executive Soraj Asavaprapha said the company had secured exclusive domestic rights for the 2026 and 2030 editions of the men’s FIFA World Cup.
He added: “The deal for two World Cups and all FIFA sports events from today until 2030 is $70 million. Thais will not have to keep fingers crossed when the next World Cup is coming.”
While no Southeast Asian country qualified for the tournament, including Thailand, Nualphan Lamsam, president of Thailand's football association, said: “Watching the World Cup should inspire young footballers."
Under its broadcast plans for the upcoming World Cup, JAS said it will air all 104 matches live via its Monomax streaming platform
Existing Monomax subscribers will have access to the matches without paying additional fees. JAS is also expected to share part of its rights with free-to-air channels, with further details of its broadcasting plans to be announced at the press conference.
The press conference came hours before the first match of the tournament between Mexico and South Africa kicks off, with this year’s edition to be held across the US, Mexico, and Canada.
The new deal, meanwhile, ends a prolonged negotiation over the value of the rights between FIFA and JAS.
Recent reports from Thailand suggested FIFA was seeking ฿1.3 billion ($40 million) for the rights in Thailand, but JAS was looking to spend significantly less than that, given Vietnam’s state broadcaster, Vietnam Television, reportedly paid ฿500 million ($15 million) for its rights to all games.
The confirmed $70 million for two editions of the men’s World Cup is closer to FIFA’s valuation for the rights package.
The last-minute nature of the deal mirrors the previous tournament in 2022, when Thailand initially struggled to secure a live rights package. The Sports Authority of Thailand eventually stepped in to pay a reported $33 million for the rights, which was funded by the NBTC regulator and private partners, including telecom giant True Corp.
This agreement strengthens Jas’ premium sports portfolio, which includes rights to English soccer’s top-tier Premier League and FA Cup in Vietnam, Thailand, Laos, and Cambodia.
Meanwhile, the German Football Association’s DFB.TV channel has expanded its coverage of the upcoming World Cup after securing a highlights package from rightsholder Deutsche Telekom and launching daily live reporting focused on the German national team.
Under the new deal, DFB.TV will show highlights and clips from the tournament, taken from the coverage provided by the country’s rightsholder Telekom and its MagentaTV platform.
The agreement includes 104 editorially produced match highlights clips, more than 300 near-live key match moments, and selected MagentaTV studio content, interviews, and expert analysis.
As well as licensed content, DFB.TV will also provide daily coverage from the German camp, including live links to its studio in Hamburg, and classic World Cup matches involving Germany.
Kay Dammholz, managing director of DFB.TV and director of media rights at the German Football Association (DFB), said: “The positive excitement currently being felt by our players in the United States is also being shared by the DFB.TV team.
“With our own DFB content and the additional rights we have acquired, we have created excellent editorial conditions for a high-quality complementary World Cup offering and a great experience for football fans across Germany.”
