CCTV has not officially announced the abandonment of the broadcast rights for the 2026 USA, Canada, and Mexico World Cup, but negotiations have fallen into a deadlock, and a signing is unlikely.

Core disagreement: the price difference is enormous.
FIFA's asking price: $250-300 million (about 1.8-2.1 billion RMB), a roughly 60% increase from the last Qatar World Cup ($150 million).
CCTV's bottom line offer: $60-80 million, a gap of over $200 million between both sides.
Reason for the price increase: this edition expands to 48 teams, with matches increasing from 64 to 104, and the tournament duration from 39 days.
Key reasons CCTV refuses:
Market value mismatch.
Absence of the Chinese national team: missing for 6 consecutive tournaments, leading to a sharp decline in nationwide attention.
Time zone issues: North America and China are 12-15 hours apart, with 70% of matches at 2-6 a.m., outside prime time, resulting in low advertising value.
Rational decision-making by public media: state funds must be carefully managed, and they cannot pay for inflated prices.
2022 Qatar World Cup CCTV advertising revenue was about 5 billion RMB, with limited profit after costs; this year's costs doubled, and the risks are extremely high.
Unfair pricing, with a huge disparity: India’s two World Cup packages cost only $5 million, while China’s quote is over 50 times higher.
FIFA classifies China as a top-tier market equivalent to the US and UK, but the pricing is disconnected from China’s reality.
CCTV’s firm stance: they will not accept unreasonable sky-high prices, preferring not to broadcast rather than be taken for a ride. #美国寻求战略比特币储备 $BTC