Hernán Bidegaín, the channel’s director, provided details of the coverage while speaking at the Waiken ILW international forum in São Paulo, Brazil.
DSports announced that it will be the only channel broadcasting all 104 matches of the largest FIFA World Cup in history, with unprecedented journalistic coverage and the production of 900 hours of content for Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Uruguay.
This World Cup, which begins on June 11, will mark a turning point in football history: it will be the first edition held in three countries -the United States, Mexico, and Canada- with 48 participating teams (involving 1,248 players) and a total of 104 matches.
“To live up to an event of this magnitude, DSports will launch its largest technical, human, and technological deployment ever undertaken by the network for a World Cup. And all of this will be reflected on DirecTV screens and through the DGO live TV and streaming platform,” said the network’s director, Hernán Bidegain.
The new details about DSports’ World Cup coverage were presented during the Waiken ILW international forum -the holding company that controls the network- as one of the differentiating factors aimed at enhancing the user experience.
“We operate as an ecosystem, creating networks among our companies and connecting people, ideas, technology, and purpose,” highlighted Darío Werthein, president of Waiken ILW, at the opening of the event held in São Paulo, Brazil.
DSports on “World Cup Mode”
The new World Cup format -with 16 venues distributed across three countries- demands unprecedented operational planning. To that end, DSports will activate its “World Cup Mode” coverage starting June 1st, extending its programming for a longer period and with a greater volume of original content.
Bidegaín specified that the coverage will require more than 80 special correspondents in the United States, Mexico, and Canada and will feature more than 900 hours of live programming, including complete match broadcasts and comprehensive journalistic coverage.
“The magnitude of this World Cup, with more matches, more teams, and more host cities, requires an unprecedented technical and editorial infrastructure, designed to guarantee quality, reliability, and an immersive experience for the regional audience,” Bidegaín emphasized to an audience packed with DIRECTV Latin America’s strategic partners.
Finally, he stated that “DSports will be the home of the World Cup not only by broadcasting all the matches, but also by offering exclusive matches depending on the region. In Argentina, for example, the sports channel will offer up to 73 exclusive matches, including the debuts of Germany, Spain, France, and Portugal.”
Three Channels, Complete Coverage
The 2026 World Cup broadcast will be supported by a 24/7 sports lineup, available across the brand’s three channels: DSports (610 / 1610 HD); DSports 2 (612 / 1612 HD); and DSports+ (613 / 1613 HD). This setup will allow not only live match broadcasts but also continuous programming with previews, analysis, special features, and multiplatform coverage, adapted to the different time zones and viewing habits across the region.
Technology at the Service of Live Sports
In a context where on-demand content dominates the audiovisual landscape, live sports continue to be the format that generates the most excitement, simultaneity, and engagement. Major sporting events -and a FIFA World Cup in particular- attract massive audiences in real time and become true cultural and digital phenomena.
The experience of Qatar 2022 confirms this: during that World Cup, DGO registered a 107% growth in its user base, driven by live and multiplatform consumption. Now, the company also anticipates an exponential jump in platform usage during the biggest sporting event of the year.
