North Korea Halts World Cup 'Pirate Broadcasts' After Getting Caught... Hyundai Ads Still Aired

Broadcasting Edited Highlights Without Rights, Then Caught
Excluded from Support After Unauthorized Women's World Cup Coverage

North Korea has stopped broadcasting edited highlights of key matches from the 2026 FIFA World Cup North and Central America after facing accusations of 'pirate broadcasting' for airing match footage without official broadcasting rights.

North Korea's Korean Central Television aired scenes of key matches from Groups A to C of the 2026 FIFA World Cup group stage during its 8 p.m. broadcast on the 15th, featuring Hyundai Motor Company advertisements visible on billboards. Screenshot from Korean Central Television / Yonhap News Agency

According to Yonhap News Agency on June 21, North Korea was not included in the 'Media Rights Licensees' document, which lists the holders of FIFA World Cup broadcasting rights. In the list, last updated by FIFA on June 11, South Korean broadcasters JTBC and its joint broadcast partners KBS and Naver were mentioned as rights holders, but North Korea was not included.

Previously, on June 18, the international football news outlet Alerta Mundial stated via X (formerly Twitter) that North Korea appeared to be illegally rebroadcasting World Cup matches by intercepting satellite signals from neighboring countries such as China. The range of news reporting allowed for World Cup matches varies by tournament, but there are generally strict limits on the duration of highlight video usage. Organizations without broadcast rights are only permitted to use match highlights in regular news programs aired at least five days a week, and the footage is limited to 30 seconds per match and 1 minute 30 seconds for sports news.

However, Korean Central Television (KCTV) appears to have aired match highlights of about five minutes per match without broadcast rights while reporting on the results. KCTV reported on World Cup matches in this manner daily from June 15 to 18, but stopped after allegations of unauthorized transmission arose on June 19.

North Korea is unable to afford the enormous broadcasting fees for major sports events such as the World Cup and the Olympics. For example, during the 2002 Korea-Japan World Cup, North Korea also broadcasted the matches without authorization. For the 2006 Germany and 2010 South Africa World Cups, North Korea received match footage for free through the Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union (ABU) alongside several other underdeveloped countries. From the 2014 Russia World Cup to the 2022 Qatar World Cup, North Korea relied on support from South Korean broadcasters for coverage.

However, it is believed that North Korea was excluded from the broadcasting rights for this World Cup because it illegally broadcast matches from the 2023 Australia-New Zealand Women's World Cup. At the time, after confirming North Korea's unauthorized broadcasts, FIFA sent a warning letter to the Korean Central Broadcasting Committee (KRT) and decided not to maintain the previous practice of bundling the Korean Peninsula into one broadcasting rights contract when negotiating North and Central America World Cup rights with South Korean broadcasters. An official from a broadcasting company told Yonhap News Agency, "To my knowledge, the original broadcasting rights of JTBC do not cover North Korea."

Meanwhile, when reporting on World Cup match results, KCTV omitted news about matches involving South Korea, the United States, and Japan. However, advertisements for companies such as Hyundai Motor Company, Coca-Cola, and McDonald's, which are based in South Korea and the United States, were shown as they were. In previous major sports broadcasts, including the 2022 Qatar World Cup, North Korea often blurred out Hyundai Motor Company and Coca-Cola advertisements or turned the South Korean flag displayed in the stands gray, thereby obscuring images related to South Korea and the United States.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.