Football fans gather at a pub in Yuseong-gu, Daejeon, to watch South Korea's second group stage match against Mexico at the 2026 North America World Cup on June 19. [Yonhap]
Football fans gather at a pub in Yuseong-gu, Daejeon, to watch South Korea's second group stage match against Mexico at the 2026 North America World Cup on June 19. [Yonhap]

With the 2026 North America World Cup now past its halfway point, confusion is growing among small business owners who are unsure whether they are legally allowed to screen matches at their establishments.

In principle, any venue — including restaurants and bars — that screens World Cup matches in a public setting must obtain a public viewing right, known as a PV right. FIFA has required paid licensing for public screenings since the 2006 Germany World Cup, and PV rights can be purchased through broadcasters that hold contracts with FIFA.

According to Naver Pay Biz, the fee is 100,000 won (about $65) per day for a single indoor screen smaller than 100 inches, and 200,000 won per day for screens 100 inches or larger. Venues wishing to screen all matches for the entire tournament must pay 3 million won.

[Yonhap]
[Yonhap]

Business owners also need to watch out for ambush marketing rules. FIFA takes a hard line against any promotion that suggests an association with the World Cup by non-official sponsors — placing a signboard outside a store advertising a World Cup screening is a prime example of conduct that could draw a response.

The burden that public screening fees place on small business owners has already sparked controversy. In April, the Korea Baseball Organization's public screening fees came under fire.

The KBO charges 3.3 million won, including value-added tax, for a single-game public screening of a professional baseball match, while a full regular-season license costs 110 million won. Adding the postseason brings the total to 140.8 million won per season. However, no enforcement action has been taken against venues that screen games without purchasing a license.

Meanwhile, broadcasters applied more flexible standards during the previous World Cup. During the 2018 Russia World Cup, broadcasters holding public screening management rights announced they would not charge separate PV fees to small business owners who screened matches on ordinary televisions without installing additional screens.

At the time, enforcement was limited to clearly commercial conduct — such as temporarily installing large projectors or outdoor screens, charging admission or table fees under the guise of a screening, or making unauthorized use of official World Cup emblems.

남아공 주장 “한국, 정말 어렵다”…최종전 앞두고 경계

남아공 주장 “한국, 정말 어렵다”…최종전 앞두고 경계

[헤럴드경제=장윤우 기자] 남아프리카공화국 월드컵 대표팀 주장 론웬 윌리엄스가 한국전을 앞두고 경계심을 드러냈다. 22일(현지시간) 남아공 매체 ‘브리플리’에 따르면
https://biz.heraldcorp.com/article/10784377

dbsdn1110@heraldcorp.com