Why no Indian broadcaster wants the 2026 FIFA World Cup

New Delhi: What's communal to India, China, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam and Sri Lanka? With little than 2 months to go, nary of them has an authoritative broadcaster to showcase the 2026 FIFA World Cup, scheduled to footwear disconnected connected June 11.The upcoming extravaganza volition diagnostic 48 countries and 104 matches, and it volition beryllium played crossed the USA, Canada and Mexico. The biggest sporting lawsuit successful the satellite volition transfix billions, including those who don't ticker immoderate shot betwixt these 4 years.

​India and China, the 2 astir populous countries, however, could miss retired wholly if things don't alteration quickly.FIFA launched the process to merchantability media rights for the adjacent 2 Men's FIFA World Cups and the 2027 FIFA Women's Cup successful India successful July 2025.

The archetypal asking terms of $100 cardinal was reportedly slashed drastically to $35 million, yet nary buyers came forward.Viacom18, present portion of the JioStar fold, paid $62 cardinal for the 2022 FIFA World Cup successful Qatar. In 2013, Sony Sports spent $90 cardinal connected the 2014 and 2018 World Cups, the 2016 Euros, the 2017 U-17 World Cup and the Confederation Cup that aforesaid year.The merger of Star India and Viacom18 has been attributed arsenic 1 crushed for less players successful the market.

Sony Pictures Network India (SPNI), which holds rights to the Euros, the UEFA Champions League and aggregate different shot events, has stayed away. A beardown dollar against the Indian rupee has been different crushed for the cautious outlook.

Arguably, the biggest crushed is the timing of the matches. The opening fixture, betwixt Mexico and South Africa successful Mexico City, volition statesman astatine 12:30 am. Only 14 of the wide 104 matches successful the upcoming World Cup volition statesman earlier midnight successful India.

Even the final, to beryllium played connected July 19 astatine the New Jersey Stadium, volition kick-off astatine 12:30 am. In 2022 (Qatar), 44 of the 64 matches started earlier midnight and 63 of 64 successful 2018 (Russia)."The timings are odd. US timings volition beryllium pugnacious for India. When we [Ten Sports] had rights for West Indies Cricket, radical watched highlights much than they watched unrecorded matches," said Neeraj Jha, Head of Sports Business for India and South Asia astatine Warner Bros.

Discovery.The timing of matches makes a large difference. The advertizing inventory is constricted successful shot owed to less stoppages, dissimilar cricket. Although FIFA person created slots for broadcasters with mandatory three-minute hydration breaks successful some halves. In India, wherever sports broadcasting relies heavy connected advertising, not subscriptions, it is an added opportunity.Viewers successful the UK get the World Cup connected BBC and ITV arsenic free-to-air options, but it’s portion of their taxation structure.

In the US, the World Cup broadcast volition outgo astatine slightest $19.99 connected Fox One. In comparison, the 2022 World Cup successful India was broadcast for escaped connected JioCinema and for Rs 12 connected Sports18 HD. Not surprisingly, linear TV viewers shifted to digital, and advertisement gross followed.

“India is simply a debased ARPU (Average Revenue per user) marketplace for sports, gaming and anyplace with an upfront subscription. The driblet is mostly due to the fact that of cricket's dominance.

It is simply a relation of however the brands privation to spend. Brands privation to walk wherever the eyeballs are, and eyeballs are presently connected cricket," said Rohit Potphode, the Managing Partner - Sports, Gaming, eSports & Live Experiences astatine Dentsu India."The kick-off times are the large barrier, particularly erstwhile it comes to audiences. The purists and the brainsick ones inactive log in, but not everybody."Plus, the (Lionel) Messi - (Cristiano) Ronaldo epoch seems to person faded a bit.

In India, AIFF is successful a heavy mess. So, that is affecting the commercialized broadside of things, not the assemblage side. So these are aggregate reasons from the user oregon the commercialized side," helium explained.Decline successful non-cricket spends

Was the penning connected the wall, though? WPP Media's India Sports Sponsorship Report 2025 stated that the sports manufacture had doubled from 2021 to 2025, but the non-cricket marketplace was worthy conscionable 11%.It doesn't assistance that the upcoming FIFA World Cup comes little than 2 weeks aft the IPL concludes.

By then, galore brands exhaust their advertizing spends connected sports.The English Premier League rights were sold for $145 cardinal for 3 seasons betwixt 2013 and 2016. The latest rights, for 2025-28, however, were sold for $65 million, a 55.17% decline. LaLiga broadcast rights person bounced disconnected aggregate services earlier landing connected Dream11-owned FanCode.

All said and done, is India's lack a large stroke to FIFA? In 2024, FIFA budgeted $3.9 cardinal arsenic gross from broadcast rights of the 2026 edition.

If $35 cardinal is the going complaint for the region, it amounts to little than 1 percent of the wide coffers.The impact, though, is connected the semipermanent approach, the reach, and the vulnerability of the product. "They're [FIFA] not looking conscionable this year, the adjacent twelvemonth oregon the twelvemonth aft that; they're looking astatine a 10-year horizon," said Rohit Potphode."There mightiness beryllium a imaginable nonaccomplishment of funds oregon gross successful the abbreviated term. But this is not affecting the bottommost line.

They are successful the green. Money is not a concern. It is astir staying beardown and gathering it retired for the adjacent 10 years alternatively of conscionable seeing the adjacent fewer years," helium continued.What next?​​​

Potphode explained that FIFA has nary volition of underselling its properties and is "absolutely sorted" arsenic acold arsenic commercialized ambitions are concerned."They already person FIFA+ arsenic a direct-to-consumer platform, truthful worst-case scenario, they volition spell there.

But they are precise wide that they bash not privation to dilute the worth oregon the equity that they person built successful the marketplace successful the past mates of years," explained Dentsu's Potphode, an organisation that has the broad media rights mandate for the 2026 FIFA World Cup successful Japan.Last Friday was the deadline for the last bid oregon offer, but an hold is not retired of the realm of possibility. However, with months turning into weeks earlier the tournament, immoderate imaginable broadcaster needs clip to finalise the woody and make assets for marketing.

Anything aboriginal than a week would not marque immoderate selling sense.An manufacture insider believes JioStar is the premier contender to prime up the rights and is waiting until the last infinitesimal erstwhile the terms seems right. "Their organisation is good, and a batch of wealth could travel done that route. Their streaming concern is besides strong, truthful it makes concern consciousness for them," explained an manufacture veteran.

​A last-ditch Hail Mary involves Doordarshan, the nationalist broadcaster, which broadcast the 1998 World Cup, played successful France.For that to happen, a superior broadcaster needs to measurement successful to stock rights. It besides remains unclear however an full FIFA World Cup, not involving India, would represent a sporting lawsuit of nationalist importance, which is indispensable nether the Sports Broadcasting Signals (Mandatory Sharing with Prasar Bharati) Act. At best, the semi-finals and last could beryllium shared.As things stand, India doesn't person an authoritative broadcaster to showcase the biggest spectacle connected the planet. But it is not each gloom; it could alteration precise soon.