SBS Upfronts 2027: FIFA World Cup 2030 stays live and free on SBS – SBS has secured the exclusive Australian television, video and radio rights to the FIFA World Cup 2030, keeping every match live and free for Australian audiences.
The agreement covers all 104 matches from the 2030 event. Coverage will run across SBS, SBS2, SBS On Demand and SBS Audio.
For Australian viewers, the announcement continues one of the most recognisable relationships in local sports broadcasting. SBS first brought the FIFA World Cup to Australian audiences in 1986, and the 2030 tournament will extend that connection to 44 years.
What SBS Has Secured
The FIFA World Cup 2030 will be staged in Morocco, Portugal and Spain. It will also mark 100 years of the tournament.
The event will be the most geographically diverse edition in World Cup history. The opening three matches will be played in Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay to honour the competition’s centenary.
All six host nations will qualify automatically.
SBS And The World Game
SBS Managing Director Jane Palfreyman said SBS remained the Australian home of the World Game.
In 2030 audiences will once again be able to experience every match live and free on SBS.
Palfreyman said the rights deal reflected SBS’s commitment to making major global sporting moments accessible to all Australians.
FIFA Director of Media Partnerships and FIFA+, Jean-Christophe Petit, said FIFA was pleased to continue its partnership with SBS after the 2026 tournament.
Record 2026 Coverage
SBS said its FIFA World Cup 2026 coverage reached more than 18 million Australians. The broadcaster described it as its most successful World Cup coverage.
SBS also said full matches and mini-match recaps on SBS On Demand drove more than 209 million hours of consumption. Around 55 percent came from digital viewing.
SBS Director of Sport Ken Shipp said the World Cup had always been more than a sporting event for the network. He said SBS aimed to capture the football, the stories, the cultures and the emotion around the tournament.
The announcement was made as part of SBS Upfronts 2027, where the broadcaster outlined programming, commercial and audience initiatives for the year ahead.
For more SBS coverage, visit TV Central’s SBS section. More information about SBS is available at sbs.com.au.
