MBC and SBS Won't Air the World Cup... JTBC, After Talks Collapse, to Co-Broadcast with KBS

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[The Financial News] JTBC, which secured the exclusive broadcasting rights to the 2026 FIFA World Cup, failed to reach an agreement with Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation (MBC) and Seoul Broadcasting System (SBS) on reselling the rights. As a result, JTBC has finalized a co-broadcast arrangement with Korean Broadcasting System (KBS), after reaching a dramatic deal in earlier negotiations.
On the 22nd, JTBC said, "We offered the same terms to South Korea's three major terrestrial broadcasters and received responses by the 21st. As a result, we have finalized a co-broadcast arrangement with KBS. We will officially wrap up the TV rights resale deal today and move into full-scale preparations."
On the 20th, JTBC and KBS announced that "the two companies have reached a dramatic agreement in negotiations over the North and Central America World Cup broadcasting rights." Although the two sides did not disclose the exact fee, KBS is believed to have accepted JTBC's final offer of 14 billion won, which was proposed to the three terrestrial broadcasters on the 13th.
At the time, JTBC said, "We have made the same final offer to the other terrestrial broadcasters under the same terms agreed with KBS. We also plan to continue negotiations with MBC and SBS."
However, MBC and SBS, which had been weighing the same terms, were reportedly unwilling to go beyond 12 billion won.
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After securing the exclusive broadcasting rights to the 2026-2032 Summer and Winter Olympics and the 2025-2030 World Cup, JTBC sought to resell the rights to the three major terrestrial broadcasters, but the effort proved difficult.
The issue over exclusive broadcasting rights came to the fore in February, when the Milan-Cortina d'Ampezzo Winter Olympics were aired only on JTBC.
Civil society groups criticized the move, saying it infringed on the public's universal right to watch. President Lee Jae-myung also publicly raised the need for institutional reform in connection with the controversy over international sports broadcasting rights.
Since then, JTBC has been negotiating with the three major terrestrial broadcasters to resell the North and Central America World Cup rights. In the early stages of talks, it reportedly proposed a price in the 30 billion won range to each broadcaster. With little progress and the tournament drawing near, JTBC lowered the offer to 25 billion won last month and then reportedly presented 14 billion won as its final proposal.
Meanwhile, the North and Central America World Cup will kick off on June 11 local time. Co-hosted by Canada, the United States, and Mexico, it will feature 104 matches for the first time in history.
y27k@fnnews.com Seo Yoon-kyung Reporter