The 2026 World Cup will mark a historic moment for international football, being the first edition organized with 48 participating teams and no less than 104 scheduled matches. The final tournament will take place from June to July and will be hosted by the United States of America, Mexico and Canada.
In Romania, the matches of the 2026 World Championship, as well as the 2030 edition, will be broadcast by Antena 1, the TV station that acquired the broadcasting rights for both tournaments, in a transaction estimated at around 30 million euros. The next World Cup, in 2030, will take place in Spain, Portugal and Morocco, with a few anniversary games also scheduled in Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay.
After setting the groups, FIFA also announced the detailed match schedule, including the match times of the more than 100 games. Due to time zone differences, many games will start at extremely early hours for European audiences, which could affect TV ratings.
A relevant example would be Romania’s program, if the “tricolors” will qualify for the final tournament. The three group stage matches would be played as follows:
June 13: Australia – Romania, time 07:00
June 19: Paraguay – Romania, time 07:00
June 25: USA – Romania, time 05:00
The very early time slots raise questions about the impact of the competition on the Romanian public and the success that the TV station anticipated at the time of acquiring the transmission rights.
The problem of match times is not limited only to Romania’s matches
The schedule established by FIFA includes numerous matches that, due to the time zone, will start in Romania after midnight or even in the morning. Even in the group stage there are attractive matches, but scheduled at difficult times for European audiences.
These include duels such as Brazil vs. Morocco, which will start at 01:00, Ecuador vs. Ivory Coast, scheduled at 02:00, or Portugal vs. Colombia, starting at 02:30. Other top matches, such as Spain vs. Uruguay, Argentina vs. Algeria or Mexico vs. Denmark/Czech Republic, will start between 03:00 and 04:00 in the morning, intervals extremely difficult for viewers in Romania to watch.
The timetable will remain, however, a mixed one
However, the organizers tried to balance the program in favor of Europe, including prime-time games. Matches like Argentina vs. Austria or Holland vs. Sweden/Poland is scheduled from 20:00, while matches like France vs. Norway or Switzerland vs. Italy/Wales kick off at 10pm. Also, the duels England vs. Croatia and Germany vs. Ecuador are set for 11:00 p.m.
Even in the knockout stages, the schedule will remain a mixed one. Some matches in the round of 16, eighths or quarters will have times that are difficult for the European audience. A possible duel of great interest, Argentina vs. Portugal, scheduled in the quarter-finals, would start at 04:00 in the morning, in Romania. Instead, the semi-finals and final of the World Championship are scheduled at ideal times for Europe, with the start set at 22:00.
Huge investment made by Antena 1 for the 2026 and 2030 World Cups
Antena 1 has invested heavily in the purchase of the TV rights for the 2026 and 2030 World Championships, the total amount amounting to approximately 30 million euros, according to market information. Recovering the money is difficult, however, due to unfavorable broadcast times, which limit advertising revenues.
In this context, the management of the station is considering sublicensing a part of the matches, and the first discussions would have taken place with Romanian Television, the former exclusive owner of the World Cups, which would have paid around 20 million euros for the 2018 and 2022 editions, according to golazo.ro.
Romania’s national team, exclusively on Antena 1 starting next fall
Romania will find out at the end of March if it qualifies for the 2026 World Championship, hosted by the USA, Mexico and Canada, and will play two play-off matches, both away.
The tricolors play on March 26, in Istanbul, against Turkey, from 19:00, a match that will be broadcast on Prima TV, and in case of a victory, they will meet the winner of the duel Slovakia vs. Kosovo, a match that would be broadcast by Antena 1.
After the World Cup, the national team will enter the League of Nations, a competition scheduled for the fall of 2026, and from that moment all Romanian matches will be broadcast only by Antena 1.
