JAS presses FIFA to match Vietnam’s World Cup rights fee
JAS is pressing FIFA to lower Thailand’s World Cup broadcast rights fee to around 487m baht, matching Vietnam’s reported deal
- Jasmine International (JAS) is negotiating with FIFA to reduce the 2026 World Cup broadcast rights fee for Thailand from over 1.3 billion baht (US$40 million).
- JAS is pushing for a fee of approximately 487 million baht, citing Vietnam's much lower reported deal of US$15 million as a benchmark.
- The company considers FIFA's current asking price commercially unviable and is prepared to abandon the deal if the fee is not significantly reduced.
- This negotiation follows a previous unsuccessful attempt by the Thai government, which also failed to secure the rights due to the high cost demanded by FIFA.
Jasmine International Plc, or JAS, is intensifying negotiations with FIFA over Thailand’s broadcast rights for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, pushing for the fee to be cut to about 487 million baht, a level close to Vietnam’s reported deal, instead of the more than 1.3 billion baht currently being sought.
The talks are entering a critical stage as FIFA is understood to be holding firm at around US$40 million, or more than 1.3 billion baht, for the Thai market.
JAS, however, views the figure as too high when compared with Vietnam, which reportedly secured the rights for about US$15 million, or around 487.5 million baht.
The company’s main objective is to bring the proposed fee down to a level that makes commercial sense.
According to a senior JAS source cited by Thansettakij, the company is negotiating hard because buying the rights at the current price would carry a high risk of immediate losses.
Deadline pressure builds
Time is now one of the biggest pressures in the negotiation, with the tournament due to kick off on June 11, 2026. The closer the opening match gets, the more difficult it becomes for JAS to retain bargaining power.
The source said JAS was prepared to walk away if FIFA refused to reduce the price and no agreement could be reached. The company would rather abandon the deal than accept a 1.3-billion-baht package that it believes would be commercially unviable.
Missing out on the World Cup rights could have some impact on JAS’s existing subscriber base for English Premier League content. However, the company believes some viewers would still choose informal viewing channels regardless of whether the World Cup was used as an incentive, limiting the benefit of paying an excessive rights fee.
Premier League base gives JAS breathing room
JAS’s first year with English Premier League rights has been considered satisfactory, with about 1.6 million subscribers. The company plans to continue marketing efforts in the second year to attract new users.
Even if subscriber numbers remain flat at around 1.6 million, JAS believes the business would still be sustainable. While the Premier League package may not generate massive profits at that level, the revenue structure is seen as strong enough to support the business.
Government’s earlier talks failed over high fee
The latest private-sector push follows an earlier attempt by the government. The Cabinet had assigned the Public Relations Department to negotiate with FIFA over the 2026 World Cup rights, but the talks failed after the fee was reportedly set as high as 1.7 billion baht.
There was also no clear confirmation from the government on the funding source or whether the deal would deliver sufficient economic returns.
FIFA does not publicly disclose country-by-country broadcast rights fees. It has only reported total broadcast rights revenue of US$3.925 billion for the 2023-2026 cycle and lists broadcast partners in some markets without revealing individual contract values.
Reports cited by Thansettakij suggest that 2026 World Cup rights fees in Asia vary widely, partly because the tournament will be hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico, meaning many matches will be played at times that are less convenient for Asian audiences.
Among reported figures, Fox Sports holds US rights in a deal estimated at below US$500 million, or about US$485 million.
South Korea’s JTBC has been linked to a figure of US$125 million, while China Media Group/CCTV is reported at US$60 million.
In India, FIFA was said to have initially sought US$100 million from Zee Entertainment before reducing the figure to US$60 million.
Vietnam’s VTV has been linked to a US$15 million deal, while Malaysia’s RTM/Unifi TV has been mentioned in some reports at about US$35 million, or around 137 million ringgit.
