The next FIFA World Cup 2026, which will be held in North America (United States and Canada) and Mexico from June 11 to July 19, will be broadcast in France in Full HD and Ultra HD 4K, depending on the network.
For free-to-air broadcasts, you will need to select the M6 channel if you wish to watch the 54 matches for which it holds the broadcasting rights. Then, the various internet service providers and satellite operators will, of course, each carry the signal provided by M6. One question arises: in what format? 2026 FIFA World Cup: Full HD or Ultra HD 4K, but no HDR. After speaking with Fabrice Tauzies, the Director of Broadcast Infrastructure Support Engineering (final control room) at M6, we know more about the different broadcasts that will be offered. At the time of writing, HDR is not yet available for the 2026 World Cup. Even though FIFA captures and produces in Ultra HD, 4K, and HDR HLG (unlike UEFA, which captures and produces in 1080p HDR HLG), it will transmit a 1080p SDR 60Hz signal, as requested by M6. The channel will then be responsible for converting the signal to 1080i at 50Hz for broadcast in France using professional Frame Rate Converter equipment for terrestrial television (TNT).
2026 FIFA World Cup: 17 Mbps and 100 Mbps streams for ISPs and satellite operators
For internet service providers (ISPs), it will be Ultra HD 4K SDR, the same for satellite operators CanalSat and Fransat. However, there is a significant difference: M6 will provide the former with a 17 Mbps signal, and the latter with 100 Mbps. But none of them have yet expressed a desire to acquire an HDR stream (M6's broadcast unit could easily transmit an HDR10 signal, for example) due to the larger financial investment required. As we can see, for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, the various stakeholders have decided to tighten their purse strings, so HDR is out. The only hope, if France goes far in the competition, is that one of the broadcasters will open their wallet to offer a better quality show. But even with this positive scenario, it seems very slim… Finally, the sound will also be minimal, meaning stereo. Then there's beIN Sports, which holds the rights to all 104 matches of the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Our contact was unable to return our call before this news item was written. It will therefore be updated later.