RTP, SIC and TVI Stitch a Free-to-Air Mundial 2026 Package With FIFA — 20 Games Including the Portugal–Congo Kick-Off on 17 June and the 28 June Final at MetLife

RTP, SIC and TVI confirmed on 6 June a joint deal with FIFA on the sub-licence of 20 games of the FIFA World Cup 2026 on Portuguese free-to-air television, ending the open-air void that had hung over the tournament since the autumn 2025 collapse of the original DAZN package. The agreement — negotiated through a tripartite consortium with the FIFA Lisbon office and rubber-stamped by the Government's open-air sport list — guarantees that every Portugal match, the opening fixture in Mexico City on 11 June, both semi-finals and the 28 June final at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey reach Portuguese homes without a paywall.

How the Games Split

The 20-game bundle splits unevenly across the three operators. RTP carries six games, including the final, the Portugal-Colombia closing group match on the night of 27-28 June in Miami, and one quarter-final. SIC carries seven, including the opening fixture between the United States and one of the play-off winners, the Portugal opener against the Democratic Republic of Congo on 17 June at 18h00 Lisbon time at the Estádio AT&T in Arlington, and one semi-final. TVI carries the remaining seven, including Portugal–Uzbekistan on 23 June at 18h00 in Inglewood, the second semi-final and a pair of round-of-16 fixtures. The four channels of each operator's sport offer — RTP1 and RTP2, SIC and SIC Notícias, TVI and TVI24 — share the broadcast windows alongside their digital catch-up apps RTP Play, SIC ao Vivo and tvi24.iol.pt.

What the Deal Did Not Cover

FIFA retained on the digital tape FIFA+ the full 104-game library for free streaming inside Portugal in the wake of the DAZN exit, which means even the 84 games outside the open-air package land legally on a Portuguese device through the FIFA+ apps on Android, iOS, Samsung TV, LG and Roku — a fallback the consortium's negotiators publicly invoked to argue down FIFA's opening price on the open-air sub-licence. NOS Sports and Sport TV are out of the chain entirely. The Sport TV deal that has carried the Liga and the Champions League into the Portuguese pay-TV bouquet for two decades was never on the table for the Mundial.

The Money and the Politics

The consortium has not published a headline figure for the open-air sub-licence; ECO, Jornal de Negócios and the Observador noticiário each cite a corridor of €10–15 million shared three ways for the 20-game window, well below the €40 million-plus DAZN was holding out for in autumn 2025. The PS had questioned the Government in May over the impasse on the open-air rights, and the Secretaria de Estado da Comunicação Social formally invited the three operators to a consortium talk on 27 May after FIFA flagged a 1 June deadline. The deal was sealed inside a 96-hour window.

What to Watch

Portugal kicks off Group F on Wednesday 17 June against the Democratic Republic of Congo at 18h00 Lisbon time on SIC, then plays Uzbekistan on 23 June on TVI and Colombia on 27-28 June on RTP1. Roberto Martínez's 26-man squad closed out at the Cidade do Futebol in Oeiras on 8 June. The final airs on RTP1 from 21h00 Lisbon time on Sunday 28 June with the trophy presentation immediately afterwards.