Malaysian free-to-air (FTA) broadcaster RTM and IPTV service Unifi TV have secured domestic rights to the major 2026 FIFA World Cup national teams soccer tournament.
The country’s communications minister, Datuk Fahmi Fadzil, announced that the upcoming tournament will be aired across multiple platforms, including free-to-air via MyTV, as well as RTM Klik and Unifi TV, to ensure widespread national coverage.
Fahmi revealed that the Malaysian government allocated a total of RM24 million ($6.1 million) for the rights.
Unifi TV, which is operated by Unifi, a Malaysian internet service provider owned by Telekom Malaysia, will broadcast all 104 matches live, while RTM will air the majority of matches either live or on a delayed basis.
Speaking at his weekly post-cabinet media briefing today, Fahmi said: “The government is committed to ensuring all Malaysians can enjoy the 2026 FIFA World Cup in an inclusive, legitimate, and comprehensive manner.
“To achieve this, the government has decided to collaborate with the private sector to ensure high-quality broadcasting and wide reach.”
While RTM has previously shown the World Cup FTA in Malaysia, Unifi TV has taken over pay-TV rights from the country’s long-standing World Cup broadcaster, Astro.
Astro held rights for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups but was outbid for this year’s tournament. It has been showing the showpiece event for the past two decades.
In a statement, the pay-TV operator claimed it made a “fair and competitive bid” for the rights and said it is “disappointed” that the offer was not accepted.
Astro pointed to rising broadcast rights fees and piracy as reasons for not increasing its bid.
The broadcaster stated: “In recent years, the landscape for premium content—particularly sports—has changed significantly. Rising costs, driven by inflation and escalating international sports broadcasting rights, have significantly increased the financial investment required.
“Meanwhile, rampant piracy has diminished the value of such rights to all legitimate platforms. In particular, the 2018 and 2022 World Cup were extensively pirated events in Malaysia. Additionally, match timings and limited runway left to plan for meaningful campaigns with clients had further diminished the commercial value to justify a reasonable investment for shareholders, nor a price increase for our customers.”
Fahmi also referenced piracy and explained how the government has stressed the importance of complying with anti-piracy regulations for all tournament-related content.
He said: “All parties are urged to act responsibly, and enforcement actions will continue to be strengthened against any violations.”
Despite missing out on the rights, Astro is still hoping to provide some World Cup coverage and revealed that it is in discussions with the rights holders to carry some matches on its platforms, including the NJOI free-to-air service and Sooka streaming app.
FIFA has concluded several late World Cup deals recently, including tie-ups with Television Jamaica, Vietnam Television and pay-TV operator SportyTV in South Africa.
In South Korea, meanwhile, public broadcaster KBS agreed a sub-license deal with pay-TV network JTBC last month to provide free-to-air coverage.
However, FIFA is still yet to sign broadcast deals in China and India, the world's two most populous nations.
A deal has not been struck in India due to a deadlock in negotiations with the Reliance-Disney heavyweight media group, while no official decision has been made in China over coverage.
World soccer’s governing body has agreed broadcast deals in over 175 territories globally for the tournament, which will take place in the US, Mexico, and Canada between June 11 and July 19.
