Guiding Nostalgia with "TVRI" and the 2026 World Cup

After a hiatus from broadcasting the World Cup, the biggest football tournament, TVRI is making a comeback for the 2026 edition. The public broadcasting institution is the sole holder of the broadcasting rights for the 2026 World Cup, which will come with a new format and present the largest number of matches in history.

In the history of the sports industry in Indonesia, TVRI is a major player that has brought the World Cup to the homes of Indonesians since 1970. Since the television screen was still monochrome, aka black and white format.

Since then, including the 1982 World Cup, which marked the first color broadcast, TVRI has served the Indonesian football fanatics. Most recently, TVRI broadcast the world's best nations and players in action at France 1998.

After that, several private television stations took turns partnering with FIFA, the world football governing body, to broadcast World Cup matches in Indonesia. This began with RCTI and SCTV, which took turns as the sole broadcasters for the 2002 and 2006 editions.

When cable television entered the early 2010s, television media companies took over broadcasting, selling the World Cup for pay-per-view. This then expanded to over-the-top (OTT) services, which are streaming services for the 2022 World Cup.

The fears of more than 200 million Indonesians losing free World Cup broadcasts have been put to rest by TVRI. The long-time player, finally returning to broadcast the World Cup, has become a savior in an era of increasingly diverse sports broadcasting with paid OTT services.

As the broadcasting rights holder for the 2026 World Cup, TVRI is committed to bringing the best football matches back to homes across Indonesia, even in the most remote areas. According to Usman Kansong, TVRI's Chief Editor for the 2026 World Cup, his company has two advantages that can ensure the availability of free World Cup broadcasts across Indonesia.

"TVRI is a public television station with extensive experience broadcasting the World Cup, the pinnacle of football. Furthermore, TVRI has the broadest reach with its digital terrestrial television service supported by 187 transmission stations," Usman said in Jakarta on Monday (January 5, 2026).

The World Cup's return to TVRI represents significant support from the government. FIFA opened a tender process for broadcasting rights holders in each member country from February to March 2025.

TVRI welcomed the announcement by registering. This marked the first time TVRI had bid for World Cup broadcasting rights since the 1998 edition.

Usman said that support from President Prabowo Subianto's government and the House of Representatives (DPR) was TVRI's main capital to compete with private television stations to win the broadcasting rights for the 2026 World Cup. In addition, Usman admitted that the harmonious relationship between PSSI and FIFA during the era of General Chairman Erick Thohir, who is also the Minister of Youth and Sports, also influenced TVRI's fate.

"This is a manifestation of the state's presence to provide entertainment to the public. The government understands that the Indonesian people are football fanatics," said Usman.

Usman added that the high cost of the 2026 World Cup broadcasting rights is not a significant obstacle for TVRI. In addition to securing approval from the government and the House of Representatives (DPR) for TVRI's use of the State Budget (APBN), TVRI will be creative in opening up non-tax state revenue sources to support its financial side.

In addition to advertising from various brands, TVRI is also open to establishing broadcast rights partnerships with pay-per-view cable and OTT channel owners. TVRI is also open to collaborating with various parties to host commercial events during the 2026 World Cup.

As an illustration, television broadcasting rights for the World Cup are a primary source of income for FIFA. The 2022 World Cup, for instance, generated over 2.9 billion US dollars or approximately 49.6 trillion rupiah for FIFA. For the 2026 World Cup, FIFA aims to achieve a minimum revenue of 4 billion US dollars (67.1 trillion rupiah) from the sale of broadcasting rights.

Chairman of Commission VII of the Indonesian House of Representatives, Saleh Partaonan Daulay, revealed that the legislative body is indeed pushing TVRI to obtain the broadcasting rights for the 2026 World Cup. This is TVRI's effort to improve itself so as not to lose out to private television stations.

"The majority of Indonesians are football fans. Therefore, we hope TVRI will provide truly high-quality World Cup broadcasts," said Saleh.

TVRI has prepared various programs leading up to and during the 2026 World Cup. The World Cup atmosphere will be present throughout this year because TVRI also holds the broadcasting rights for the 2026 U-17 World Cup in Qatar, next November.

The program will be presented on TVRI and TVRI Sport. The two channels will be set to share broadcasts of 104 matches from the 48 participating teams in the 2026 World Cup.

The 2026 World Cup will feature a longer match schedule. The kickoff times for the matches will range from 11:00 PM WIB to 11:00 AM WIB. FIFA has distributed the match schedule according to the countries of the participating teams.

TVRI is also preparing a number of off-air events and quizzes with prizes to enliven the 2026 World Cup broadcast. TVRI will also prepare live reports from the United States, Canada, and Mexico by sending coverage teams to the three North American countries. In total, more than 100 personnel will be deployed by TVRI to package the best 2026 World Cup broadcast on Indonesian television.

On the other hand, TVRI will also adapt to the needs of a new generation of viewers, namely Generation Z. In a survey released by the Oliver Wyman firm in 2023, only 40 percent of Gen Z admitted to watching live sports matches on television. Meanwhile, 63 percent of Gen Z said they regularly follow sports competitions and favorite athletes on social media channels.

With that situation, TVRI has prepared accounts on several social media channels specifically for the 2026 World Cup. The main content of these accounts is broadcasting short videos of the best and most unique moments of the match.

"We've prepared for young people who want quick highlights. We'll also provide commentators who can engage young people. Hopefully, they'll switch to watching the full match after seeing the social media content," said Usman.

Ultimately, the 2026 World Cup is TVRI's attempt to cultivate a new generation of viewers, while simultaneously affirming its image as a television station committed to providing quality sports broadcasts for free.