China Central Television (CCTV) has secured the broadcasting rights for the 2026 FIFA World Cup following months of tough negotiations, according to multiple media reports on Friday.

据多家媒体5月15日报道，经过数月的艰难谈判，中国中央电视台最终拿下了2026年世界杯转播权。

Multiple industry insiders confirmed on Friday that CCTV and FIFA have reached a formal agreement on rights acquisition with a reported total price of $110 million for the expanded edition of the FIFA marquee tournament, ending a lengthy standstill between the state broadcaster and the international governing body due to disputes on financial terms.

多位业内人士5月15日证实，央视与国际足联已就版权收购达成正式协议。据称，本届世界杯版权总价约为1.1亿美元，这标志着这家中国国家级电视台与国际足联之间因财务条款分歧而陷入的长期谈判僵局终于结束。

According to Chinese media reports, CCTV had turned down FIFA’s initial offer worth $250-300 million, a figure far exceeding CCTV’s budget and the network’s estimation of the tournament’s commercial value in a country, where its national team did not qualify for the 48-nation Cup finals.

据国内媒体报道，国际足联最初报价高达2.5亿至3亿美元，远超央视预算及对中国市场商业价值的判断，毕竟中国男足并未晋级本届48支球队的世界杯决赛圈。

FIFA sent a high-level delegation led by Secretary-general Mattias Grafstrom to Beijing this week to meet with Chinese Football Association officials and support local youth development programs. Although Grafstrom has never made any public response to the negotiation of the media rights, his visit was believed to have helped secured the deal with CCTV.

本周，国际足联秘书长格拉夫斯特伦率高级别代表团访华，会晤中国足协官员并支持青少年足球项目。尽管他未就版权谈判作出公开回应，但外界认为，此访为央视与国际足联最终达成协议发挥了关键作用。

The 2026 World Cup will kick off on June 11 with a total number of 104 matches to be jointly held in the United States, Canada and Mexico. The majority of the matches will be broadcast live on late night and early morning in China, making it an unfavorable scheduling for TV commercials.

2026年世界杯将于6月11日揭幕，共104场比赛，由美国、加拿大和墨西哥联合举办。大部分比赛直播时间对应中国时区的深夜至凌晨，对电视广告来说并非理想的排期。

As China’s flagship public service broadcaster, CCTV has long held exclusive free-to-air World Cup broadcast rights for the Chinese mainland. The latest deal, which is expected to be officially announced on Sunday, has eased off Chinese fans’ earlier concerns that they would miss the live coverage of the 2026 tournament at home.

作为中国旗舰级公共广播机构，央视长期持有中国大陆世界杯独家免费转播权。这项预计于5月17日正式公布的最新协议，打消了中国球迷此前担心无法在家收看2026年世界杯实况的顾虑。

Industry analysts said the hard-fought rights deal sets a vital precedent for sports media rights pricing in China. CCTV’s stance of rejecting an inflated staggering fee not only safeguards reasonable commercial interests for domestic broadcasters but also pushes FIFA to adopt more market-oriented and regionally-tailored pricing strategies for the world’s second-largest sports media market, according to insiders.

行业分析人士指出，这场来之不易的版权协议为国内体育媒体版权定价提供了关键先例。央视拒付天价版权费的立场，既保护了国内转播机构的合理利益，也促使国际足联为全球第二大体育媒体市场采用更市场化、更区域化的定价策略。

broadcasting rights /ˈbrɔːdkɑːstɪŋ raɪts/转播权

rights acquisition /raɪts ˌækwɪˈzɪʃən/版权收购

standstill /ˈstændstɪl/僵局，停滞状态

kick off /kɪk ɒf/开赛，揭幕

ease off /iːz ɒf/缓解，打消