📺 2026 World Cup on TV: The complete guide to not missing a thing from France
The TV landscape for the 2026 World Cup is changing radically in France! Between M6's historic coup on free-to-air, the full coverage on beIN SPORTS and TF1's complete absence, discover our full guide to know which channels will broadcast the 104 matches and support Les Bleus without missing a moment of the tournament.
With just days to go before the kick-off of the 2026 World Cup (on June 11), one question is on every football fan's lips: which channel will we be watching to follow the exploits of Les Bleus and the 104 matches of this XXL tournament?
For this historic edition in North America, the French television landscape has undergone a real earthquake. TF1's historic monopoly is over! Make way for a brand-new split between free-to-air and pay TV. Here's our complete rundown to help you avoid the red card in front of your screen.
🆓 Free-to-air: M6's big power move
This is the biggest change of the 2026 edition. For the very first time in its history, M6 is the main free-to-air official broadcaster of the World Cup, after snatching the exclusive rights from its historic rival, TF1.
The volume: M6 will broadcast live and free of charge 54 of the tournament's biggest matches.
Les Bleus: No need to panic, France's matches will be available free-to-air, along with the biggest clashes of the group stages and almost the entire knockout phase (including the semi-finals and the grand final).
Streaming: All of these games will also be available live and on replay on the channel's free streaming platform, M6+.
💳 Full pay coverage: beIN SPORTS still on duty
If you're a football fanatic and refuse to miss a single match of this 39-day marathon, you'll need to turn to the pay-TV offer.
The broadcaster: Unsurprisingly, beIN SPORTS has secured the rights to 100% of the matches of the competition.
The setup: The pay channel will offer all 104 matches live. It's the only way in France to watch the games that won't be selected for free-to-air broadcast on M6.
The bonuses: Daily analysis shows, top-tier pundits and multi-screen coverage via the beIN SPORTS CONNECT app.
❌ TF1, the major absentee of the 2026 edition
This is the anomaly of this World Cup. For the first time in decades, TF1 will not broadcast a single match of the competition. Beaten by M6's aggressive financial bid during the FIFA tender process, France's number-one channel will have to settle for covering the event only through its news bulletins and current affairs programmes.
📊 Recap: Where to watch the matches?
M6 / M6+ (Access: Free / Free-to-air) — 54 matches : Main official broadcaster. Will show France's matches, the best of the group-stage clashes, the quarter-finals, semi-finals and the grand Final.
beIN SPORTS (Access: Paid / Subscription) — 104 matches : Full-coverage broadcaster. Will show 100% of the competition live (including 50 matches as total exclusives).
TF1 (Access: None) — 0 matches : No live coverage. Highlights and news in the bulletins only.
⏰ The time-zone trap: Get the coffee ready!
With this being a transatlantic competition (United States, Canada, Mexico), you'll need to adjust your sleep schedule. While matches played on the East Coast will kick off in the late afternoon or early evening French time, games on the West Coast (Los Angeles, Vancouver, Seattle) will tip over into the middle of the night, with kick-offs scheduled between 11 p.m. and 3 a.m. French time.