Zattoo TV Streaming: 20 Years After the First Live World Cup Stream

Zattoo TV Streaming: A Pioneering Moment That Changed the Industry

When Germany and Costa Rica kicked off the World Cup on June 9, 2006, a Zurich-based startup made streaming history: Zattoo broadcast the game live, for free, and legally over the Internet to computers—with just about a dozen employees in the U.S. and Zurich. In doing so, Zattoo became the first provider worldwide to bring TV streaming to PCs as a free live TV service. At a time when smart TVs didn’t yet exist, DVDs were still rented by mail, and streaming wasn’t yet a part of everyday life for many people, the company demonstrated for the first time how television could work over the Internet.

The name Zattoo comes from the Japanese word zattō, which means something like «crowd» or «bustling activity»—a fitting name for the idea of bringing many people together for a shared live TV experience on the Internet. Swiss entrepreneur Bea Knecht and Sugih Jamin, a professor at the University of Michigan, had already developed this vision in the U.S. back in 2005. Initially, the streams were transmitted via a peer-to-peer network. By 2007, Zattoo already had 850,000 registered users in its markets at the time.

From Pioneering Achievement to Everyday Life: What the Numbers Show

Today, that pioneering moment has become the norm. The latest Zattoo streaming insights show just how much access to live TV has changed: Between March 2025 and March 2026, users streamed approximately 1.26 billion hours via Zattoo. According to the Zattoo TV Streaming Report 2026 Switzerland, conducted by YouGov on behalf of Zattoo, 71 percent of households in Switzerland were already watching TV via the internet in 2026. 78 percent of the Swiss population uses TV streaming at least partially for their TV viewing, and 58 percent of respondents rely on smart TVs for this purpose. 82 percent expect to still be watching live TV five years from now.

«Twenty years ago, Zattoo demonstrated that watching TV over the Internet isn’t just possible—it can be simpler, more flexible, and more accessible. That vision continues to drive us today. With the 2026 World Cup, we’re taking it even further: What began on a computer back then is now available wherever fans happen to be. Whether on the big screen or on the go via smartphone,» says Tina Rodriguez, interim CEO of Zattoo.

Today, Zattoo is one of Europe’s leading TV streaming providers. Users in Switzerland, Germany, and Austria use Zattoo to stream live TV, catch-up TV, and on-demand content on virtually all relevant devices. In addition, Zattoo provides its technology to network operators and media companies as a TV-as-a-Service platform and, according to the company, works with more than 30 B2B customers worldwide. The company employs more than 220 people and is headquartered in Zurich, with an additional office in Berlin.

New brand campaign with «Do you see soccer everywhere? So do we!»

Zattoo highlights how soccer continues to bring people together even 20 years later in a new brand campaign developed in collaboration with the agencies Who is Daisy and DAMM & BIERBAUM. Under the tagline «You see soccer everywhere? So do we!» the campaign highlights how soccer suddenly becomes ubiquitous during a World Cup: while directing traffic, at the garden center, while waiting at the bus stop, or while shopping. A melon becomes a ball, a bus stop becomes a goal, and a vase becomes a championship trophy. The overarching brand slogan «Streaming starts here» ties back to Zattoo’s origins: the first free and legal live World Cup stream over the internet in 2006. The campaign will run in Switzerland starting June 10 across TV, digital, and social media.

Zattoo will broadcast all matches of the 2026 World Cup live in Switzerland. According to the company, its service includes more than 370 TV channels, unlimited streaming on all devices, and a subscription that can be canceled monthly and comes with a 30-day free trial.