FIFA ASEAN Cup, a new Southeast Asian competition under FIFA’s official calendar, is set to run from 25 September to 5 October 2026, a compact ten‑day schedule hosted in Bandung, Indonesia. Initial commercial offers for the television rights were steep: the first bid stood at US$3 million (about VND 78 billion) for all 20 matches across two divisions, later trimmed to US$2.6 million (approximately VND 68 billion). Even at the reduced figure, the cost translates to roughly VND 7 billion per broadcast day, a burden many regional broadcasters deem unsustainable, especially given the tournament’s brief window and single‑host format that limits commercial upside.
As a result, no TV network in Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia or Singapore has confirmed rights purchases, and Vietnamese fans currently have no official channel to watch the games. In contrast, Indonesia’s Emtek Media Group announced on 14 September that it has become the first broadcaster to secure the rights. Its suite of platforms—Indosiar, SCTV, Vidio, Moji and Nex—will air all Indonesian national team matches, including the 0‑3 loss to Vietnam on 3 August in the ASEAN Cup 2026 group stage. The exact fee paid by Emtek was not disclosed, but industry chatter suggests the price could fall further, possibly to US$800,000 (around VND 20.7 billion), to encourage broader regional uptake. If such a reduction materialises, other Southeast Asian broadcasters may reconsider, but for now the high licensing cost remains the principal obstacle to the tournament’s visibility outside Indonesia.