The Bangladesh Television will broadcast the FIFA World Cup 2026 directly as the state-owned television acquired the broadcasting rights.
State minister for information and broadcasting Yasser Khan Chowdhury told a press conference at the Press Information Department on Tuesday that the BTV bought the broadcasting rights from FIFA for Tk 47.25 crore.
The BTV had broadcast the 2022 FIFA World Cup at a cost of about Tk 100 crore raising questions about the transparency of the previous agreement, he added.
‘The BTV would not need to bear the financial burden as the broadcasting rights had already been sub-licensed to various television channels, telecom operators and over-the-top platforms,’ he said.
‘A company that had initially acquired the rights from FIFA demanded about Tk 200 crore from,’ the state minister said, adding that the proposal was rejected.
He said that the ministry subsequently initiated direct negotiations with FIFA and involved the Bangladesh Football Federation in the process.
‘After days of meetings, discussions and negotiations, we were able to reach an agreement,’ he said.
According to the state minister, the final agreement was signed at a cost of $3.85 million, equivalent to about Tk 47.25 crore.
The total cost, however, stands at Tk 63.79 crore, including VAT and income tax, he added.
The state minister also said that television channels T Sports and Somoy TV, telecom operators Grameenphone, Banglalink and Robi, and OTT platform iScreen purchased broadcasting rights from the BTV.
Earlier, a cabinet committee on government purchase in a meeting on Sunday approved a proposal from the information ministry to buy the World Cup Football 2026 television broadcasting rights at a cost of Tk 72.70 crore.
Football’s governing body FIFA will stage the FIFA World Cup 2026 in the United States, Canada and Mexico from June 11 to July 19, featuring 48 participating nations.