The calculations are wrong! FIFA is asking for sky-high prices, and China is directly refusing firmly this time.

With just over 40 days left until the 2026 North America World Cup kicks off, fans around the world are eagerly looking forward, but fans in mainland China are facing an awkward situation — we still haven't secured the broadcast rights for the World Cup.
It's surprising to hear about this, after all, for so many years, the domestic market has never missed a broadcast of the World Cup. Why did it suddenly get stuck this time?
The answer is simple: it's not that we don't want to buy, but FIFA's asking price is too high, treating us as "fat sheep" to be slaughtered. This time, we won't play their game.
FIFA has offered mainland China broadcast rights at a staggering price of 250 million to 300 million USD, roughly 1.8 to 2.1 billion RMB.
To know, in the last Qatar World Cup, our broadcast rights cost only about 150 million to 200 million USD. This time, it directly increased by nearly 100 million USD, a rise of over 50%.
Why does FIFA dare to ask for such a lion's share? Simply put, they recognize the large Chinese market and the many fans.
They categorize China, the US, and the UK as the top-tier markets, believing that with our large population, extensive fan base, and strong advertising monetization ability, we should pay high prices.
Moreover, this year's World Cup expanded to 48 teams, with matches increasing from 64 to 104. They use this as an excuse to wildly inflate prices.
But they only focus on the "big" Chinese market and completely ignore our actual situation.
This World Cup is hosted in the US, Canada, and Mexico, and the time difference is a major obstacle. Most key matches are scheduled between 6 a.m. and 10 a.m. Beijing time, which is not our prime viewing hours.
The scenes of staying up late to watch the World Cup and nationwide celebrations in previous years are unlikely this time, and viewership and advertising revenue will naturally be affected.
More importantly, the Chinese national team didn't qualify this time, lacking the support of a home team, so the nationwide enthusiasm for watching the game has halved.
In the past, with the national team participating, regardless of results, attention was always high, and advertisers were willing to spend money.
Without the national team this year, the popularity will inevitably decline. If CCTV spends billions to buy the rights, recouping the investment will be difficult — it's purely a loss-making deal.
On FIFA's side, their calculations are ringing loudly. They expect total revenue from the 2026 World Cup to reach 11 billion USD, with broadcast rights revenue alone taking 4.264 billion USD, nearly 40% of total income.
Just in China, they want to harvest 2 billion RMB, treating us as a "cash cow."
But they didn't expect that China's stance this time is very clear: not to be the fool.
As the only domestic organization qualified to negotiate directly with FIFA, CCTV has been negotiating since late last year. After half a year of stalemate, they still haven't budged and firmly refuse to accept such an outrageous high price.
This has led to the current awkward situation: only over 40 days before the start, the mainland broadcast rights are still not finalized.
What's more troublesome is that without the rights, domestic media are limited in applying for reporter credentials. In previous years, the entire internet was already buzzing with World Cup previews, interviews, and interactive activities. This year, however, the mainland is collectively silent, with no signs of activity.
Many fans might ask, isn't it just watching a game? Why can't we compromise and buy it? Actually, this isn't just about "watching the game" — fundamentally, it's a fair trade negotiation.
FIFA can't rely on monopolizing World Cup resources to set arbitrary prices, treating a single market as a "fool" to be exploited.
Our Chinese market is indeed large, and there are many fans, but that is not a reason for FIFA's sky-high asking prices.
The price of sports event broadcasting rights should match the actual market value and viewership expectations, not unilaterally set prices out of thin air.
As a national media, CCTV must meet fans' needs and also uphold cost principles, preventing the country's and taxpayers' money from being drained by FIFA's greed.
The current situation is very clear: FIFA either lowers the price to a reasonable level that reflects the Chinese market, or they stalemate indefinitely. We won't buy the rights, and fans can still enjoy the tournament in their own way.
After all, no matter how exciting the World Cup is, it's just a sports event. There's no need to be the meat on someone else's chopping block just to watch the game.