The FIFA World Cup 2026 is a little over a month away and millions of soccer fans in India are at risk of not being able to watch the best teams in the world play.
That is because JioHotstar and FIFA have so far failed to reach an agreement on broadcast rights in India.
FIFA held talks with JioHotstar, Sony
According to Reuters, JioHotstar offered $20 million for 2026 World Cup broadcast rights, a fraction of FIFA's ask, which was not acceptable to soccer's global governing body. The report, citing unnamed sources with direct knowledge, added that Sony has also held talks for FIFA rights for India but decided not to make an offer.
What JioHotstar offered
FIFA had reportedly sought $100 million for broadcast rights in India for the 2026 and 2030 World Cups, the sources said. In 2022, for the FIFA World Cup in Qatar, Jio Cinema had paid about $60 million, which was announced around 14 months before the event.
"FIFA is looking for a similar amount for this edition of the tournament," a FIFA source told Reuters.
Why FIFA World Cup may be a hard-sell in India
FIFA had significantly lowered its ask from the $100 million earlier, but has not been keen on the $20 million figure Reliance offered, another source said.
Several factors, including the timing of the matches, being held in the United States, Canada and Mexico, which would be aired in India past midnight, and an advertising slowdown linked to the Iranian war, are among the reasons for JioHotstar to offer a lower-than-expected amount for the broadcast rights.
"Football is a niche segment in India," said the source.
Sony, which has TV channels and a streaming app in India, also decided not to purchase broadcast rights from FIFA as it did not make economic sense for the group, said the third industry source.
"Not much time is left but I won't call it a stalemate. It's more like we are at the end of a chess game with a couple of moves left," Rohit Potphode, managing partner for sports at advertising agency Dentsu India, told Reuters.
FIFA has no broadcast deal in China
The report also added that it is not just India, where FIFA is struggling to find broadcast partners for the World Cup 2026. Soccer fans in China too, are in a similar situation as the state-run CCTV, which had secured the rights well in advance for the past World Cups, including 2018 and 2022, have not done the same this time around.
"Discussions in China and India regarding the sale of media rights for the FIFA World Cup 2026 are ongoing and must remain confidential at this stage," FIFA told Reuters in a statement. FIFA also said that it has concluded agreements with broadcasters in over 175 territories globally for the World Cup, which will kick off on June 11.