Channel 4 to show Hockey World Cup on YouTube

Channel 4 has agreed exclusive rights to air the 2026 Hockey World Cup on its YouTube channel. 

All England and Scotland Women’s and England and Wales Men’s matches from the tournament will be available on the Channel 4 Sport channel, including England Men versus Wales Men on Wednesday 19 August. 

The tournament takes place in Wavre, Belgium and Amstelveen, Netherlands from 14 to 30 August, with 16 men’s teams and 16 women’s teams taking part. 

Channel 4 is also the official broadcast partner of the FIH Hockey Pro League. A three-year broadcast deal from 2024 to 2027 sees all England Men and Women matches, alongside top-tier neutral matches, air on Channel 4 Sport YouTube. 

Joe Blake-Turner, interim head of sport at Channel 4, said: “Following our partnership with the FIH Hockey Pro League, it’s a thrill to be able to bring hockey fans this year’s Hockey World Cup. We’ll be following the home nations Men’s and Women’s teams throughout the tournament and supporting them every step of the way as we continue our commitment to offer accessible, high-quality sports coverage, for free, on a variety of platforms.”

England Hockey CEO Rich Beer said: “Increasing the visibility of hockey remains one of our biggest strategic priorities. Over the past two years we have worked hard to ensure that our biggest international events are available free-to-air, allowing both our hockey community and new audiences to experience the excitement of our sport.  

“We’re incredibly proud to continue that commitment by making every England World Cup match freely available, while also ensuring supporters across Great Britain can follow Scotland and Wales throughout the tournament. 

“We’re equally proud that Channel 4 continues to believe in hockey and the potential of our sport. Every new viewer helps us build the case for even more free-to-air coverage in the future, and we hope the hockey community gets behind our teams and helps us make this World Cup our biggest audience yet.”