The broadcast rights for the "World Cup" over the past five tournaments in Thailand, following the "2026 World Cup" set to kick off next month, amount to approximately 1.3 billion baht.
On 12 May 2026, we look back at the broadcast rights fees for the last five World Cups in Thailand, ahead of the "2026 World Cup" jointly hosted by the United States, Canada, and Mexico, scheduled to take place from 11 June to 19 July.
Going back to the 2006 World Cup in Germany, the broadcast rights cost around 337.5 million baht, awarded to Tosapak Communication Agency Co., Ltd. For the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, the rights in Thailand shifted to RS Public Company Limited, which also secured the rights for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, continuing their dual broadcast rights from the previous tournament.
However, issues arose when the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) issued the 2012 "Must-Have" rule, mandating that key television programs, including the World Cup, be broadcast on free-to-air television to ensure equal access to popular sports events. Ultimately, the Administrative Court ruled the NBTC’s announcement unlawful, impacting the rights holders, and ordered compensation exceeding 427 million baht to RS Public Company Limited.
Moving to the 2018 World Cup in Russia, nine private companies—CP, ThaiBev, BTS, King Power, Gulf, Kasikorn Bank, PTTGC, Bangchak, and Carabao Dang—pooled resources to purchase the broadcast rights, which cost 1.141 billion baht.
Meanwhile, the broadcast rights for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar were 1.4 billion baht, with the Sports Authority of Thailand securing financial support from the NBTC. This figure represents the highest World Cup broadcast rights cost in Thailand to date. The latest, the 2026 World Cup jointly hosted by the United States, Canada, and Mexico, carries broadcast rights valued at approximately 1.3 billion baht.