SAMSUL AREFIN KHAN

The FIFA World Cup 2026 is set to begin in just 33 days, but there is a strong possibility that Bangladeshi viewers may face a World Cup blackout, as no broadcaster in the country has secured telecast rights for the global showpiece event as of yesterday.

Whopping asking price for broadcast, limited commercial inventory, and inconvenient match timings are the reasons behind Bangladeshi broadcasters not showing interest in telecasting the greatest football show on earth.

Four years ago, state-run Bangladesh Television (BTV) had secured terrestrial broadcasting rights while satellite channels, T Sports and GTV, secured satellite rights. These TV channels aired all 64 matches live, while Toffee held the digital streaming rights.

This year, however, no broadcaster has acquired the rights because of the massive price being demanded by Springbok Pte Ltd, the Singapore-based company that secured media rights for Bangladesh.

Information and Broadcasting Minister Zahir Uddin Swapan told The Daily Star that the government is not interested in purchasing the rights, given the current financial situation and allegations of corruption surrounding the previous deal.

“It seems that not even one-tenth of the money spent on the purchase last time was recovered,” Swapon said yesterday.

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