Millions of football fans in India and China could miss next month's World Cup as broadcast rights remain unresolved in both countries. With the tournament starting on 11 June, just five weeks remain for deals to be finalised.
In India, a joint venture between Reliance and Disney reportedly offered $20 million for the 2026 World Cup rights, far below Fifa's demand. Sony also declined to bid. Fifa initially sought $100 million for the 2026 and 2030 tournaments, but lowered its ask; however, the $20 million offer was deemed unacceptable.
China has yet to announce a broadcast agreement, despite accounting for 49.8 per cent of global digital viewing hours during the 2022 World Cup. State broadcaster CCTV, which secured rights well in advance for previous tournaments, has not commented.
Sources say football lacks the commercial appeal of cricket in India, and an advertising slowdown has dampened revenue expectations. Reliance-Disney, despite investing billions in cricket, anticipates lower World Cup viewership due to late-night match timings in India.
Rohit Potphode of Dentsu India described the situation as being 'at the end of a chess game with a couple of moves left.' The absence of confirmed agreements at this stage is highly unusual.
