RTÉ has secured the exclusive Irish free-to-air broadcast rights to the 2030 FIFA World Cup, building on record television and streaming audiences generated during its coverage of the 2026 tournament.

The announcement came after more than one million viewers watched Spain defeat Argentina in Sunday night’s final, bringing to a close RTÉ’s most extensive World Cup operation to date.

The 2030 tournament will be staged primarily across Spain, Portugal and Morocco, with three opening centenary matches taking place in South America to mark 100 years since the first FIFA World Cup was held in Uruguay.

RTÉ will provide Irish audiences with free-to-air coverage across television, streaming, radio and digital platforms. The broadcaster will also cover the Republic of Ireland’s qualification campaign, with hopes that the national team can earn a place at the tournament, which could yet expand to a record 64 teams, but will at a minimum repeat the 48 from this summer.

The agreement represents a major addition to RTÉ’s long-term sports rights portfolio and follows a 2026 World Cup that delivered new audience records for the national broadcaster.

The final between Spain and Argentina generated more than 1.4 million streams on RTÉ Player, making it the most-streamed single event in the platform’s history.

One Million

An average television audience of one million watched the game live on RTÉ2, representing a 65 per cent share of the available television audience.

Across the full tournament, RTÉ Player recorded 23.4 million streams. That was almost 15 million more than the 8.5 million streams delivered during the 2022 World Cup and close to three times the previous tournament’s total.

The scale of the increase underlines the changing manner in which major sporting events are being consumed, with audiences increasingly moving between linear television, live streaming, highlights, social media and on-demand programming.

England’s semi-final against Argentina attracted an average television audience of 949,000 and a 60 per cent audience share, alongside one million streams on RTÉ Player.

The other semi-final, between France and Spain, delivered an average audience of 873,000, a 61 per cent share and a further one million streams.

England’s game against Norway was also among the tournament’s strongest performers, attracting an average RTÉ2 audience of 787,000 and a 72 per cent share, as well as one million streams.

Record Numbers

“We are delighted that RTÉ has been successful in securing rights to the 2030 FIFA World Cup for Irish audiences after what has been a very successful 2026 World Cup, with record numbers of people enjoying RTÉ’s coverage,” said RTÉ Director General Kevin Bakhurst.

“From the first game through to the final, audiences have come to RTÉ in large numbers for our coverage and analysis of every single game, but also for our World Cup highlights on RTÉ Player and YouTube, our podcasts, Up All Night on RTÉ Player and more.

“The huge number of streams on RTÉ Player throughout the tournament has been one of our big success stories this year and has highlighted the value of our investment in the service in recent years.”

Bakhurst said RTÉ was looking forward to covering the next World Cup and the Republic of Ireland’s qualification campaign.

“Live sport, free-to-air, continues to provide national moments and conversations, enjoyment and entertainment to Irish audiences, paid for by the licence fee, public funding and commercial revenue,” he added.

The World Cup final formed part of an exceptional Sunday of live sport for RTÉ, coming on the same day as the All-Ireland Hurling Final.

Memorable

“Yesterday was a memorable day for RTÉ Sport, with the All-Ireland Hurling Final and the 2026 FIFA World Cup Final bringing an exciting day of live sport to audiences,” said RTÉ Head of Sport Declan McBennett.

“More broadly, it has been an exceptional month of sporting coverage, including RTÉ’s most extensive FIFA World Cup broadcast operation to date, delivering all 104 matches with a uniquely Irish overview.

“The strong response across television, RTÉ Player, digital and social platforms reflects the enduring appetite for live sport in Ireland.”

RTÉ’s online and social coverage also reached considerable scale during the tournament, generating 91 million video views across its social platforms.

More than 6.8 million views were recorded for highlights and analysis published through the RTÉ Sport YouTube channel.

Late-night and early-morning kick-offs created an additional opportunity for on-demand viewing. World Cup highlights generated 1.6 million streams on RTÉ Player, while unseen moments, individual clips and the Up All Night programme added another 345,000 streams.

Radio coverage was delivered through Inside Sport, Saturday Sport and Sunday Sport on RTÉ Radio 1, alongside updates, discussion and analysis across RTÉ Radio 1 and RTÉ 2FM programming.

The 2026 World Cup coverage was sponsored by Heineken 0.0.

Securing the 2030 rights ensures that one of the world’s most valuable and widely watched sporting properties will remain available to Irish audiences without a subscription.

It also gives the broadcaster a major sporting centrepiece around which it can continue developing RTÉ Player, its digital output and its commercial partnerships over the next four years.

The record streaming figures from 2026 demonstrate the value of that multi-platform strategy, while the combination of the World Cup Final and the All-Ireland Hurling Final on the same day again highlighted the capacity of free-to-air sport to create shared national viewing moments.

 

 

 

 

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