Following up on our initial report regarding the broadcast quality of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, held in the United States, Canada, and Mexico from June 11th to July 19th, while Full HD and Ultra HD 4K resolutions were initially available depending on the network, the situation changed a few hours before the start of the competition. Ultimately, the 2026 FIFA World Cup is indeed available in France in Ultra HD 4K HDR10.
For free-to-air broadcasts, you must always select the M6 channel, which holds the broadcasting rights, if you wish to watch all 54 matches. Then, the various internet service providers and satellite operators will, of course, each pick up the signal provided by M6 4K. And that's where things have changed. 2026 FIFA World Cup: an exclusive UHD 4K HDR10 signal via Canal+ managed by M6. While we were discussing the idea that one of the broadcasters might invest to offer a higher-quality broadcast should the French team perform well, Canal+ ultimately decided to invest before the start of the competition and offer the M6 4K channel in HDR10. After consulting with one of our insiders in M6's technical department, it appears that the UHD 4K HDR10 signal broadcast, converted from the UHD HDR HLG provided by HBS (Host Broadcast Services), the FIFA-designated host broadcaster located in Dallas, is sent directly by M6 to Canal+, which acts solely as the broadcaster, without any intervention. The Ultra HD 4K resolution of the matches is therefore native, and the HDR HLG is converted by M6 to HDR10. For other sequences, such as commercials during refreshment breaks, which are only available in 1080i SDR, M6 converts the signal to UHD 4K HDR10.
2026 FIFA World Cup, UHD SDR fully managed by M6 for internet boxes££££
Regarding ISPs (Internet Service Providers) and operators broadcasting the matches in UHD SDR, here again it is M6 that manages the conversion of the UHD 4K HDR HLG signal from HBS to UHD 4K SDR. For the other sequences originally in HD, it is M6 that converts the 1080i SDR signal to UHD SDR. As a reminder, M6 provides a 17 Mb/s stream to ISPs, 100 Mb/s to satellite operators. And for beIN Sports, it's HD in stereo.
In short, the UHD signal of the 2026 World Cup in France, HDR10 or SDR, is entirely managed by M6.
2026 FIFA World Cup on DTT: Full HD and stereo££££
Finally, for DTT, as already mentioned in our previous news item, the 1080p/60 signal sent by HBS, in accordance with M6's request, is (still) converted by M6 to 1080i/50 using high-performance Frame Rate Converter equipment.
Finally, the audio remains unchanged in all cases, i.e., in stereo.
