104 matches, 0 broadcasters: Why no one in India wants to watch the 2026 FIFA World Cup

New Delhi: What do India, China, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam and Sri Lanka have in common? With less than two months to go until the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which is scheduled to kick off on June 11, none of them have an official broadcaster.The upcoming mega-tournament will feature 104 races in 48 countries and will be held in the United States, Canada and Mexico. The world’s biggest sporting event will shock billions of people, including those who haven’t watched football in the past four years.

However, if things don’t change quickly, India and China, the two most populous countries, may miss the opportunity entirely.FIFA launched the process in July 2025 to sell media rights for the next two FIFA Men’s World Cups and the 2027 FIFA Women’s Cup in India. The initial asking price was reportedly $100 million, which was later slashed to $35 million, but no buyer came forward.Viacom18, now part of JioStar, paid $62 million for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. In 2013, Sony Sports spent $90 million on the 2014 and 2018 World Cups, the 2016 European Championships, the 2017 U-17 World Cup and the Confederations Cup in the same year.The merger of Star India and Viacom18 is cited as one of the reasons for the decline in market participants. Sony Pictures Network India (SPNI), which holds broadcast rights for the European Cup, UEFA Champions League and several other football events, has exited. The dollar’s strength against the Indian rupee is another reason for the cautious outlook.

Arguably, the biggest reason is the timing of the game. The opening match between Mexico and South Africa will begin at 12:30 noon. Only 14 of the total 104 matches in the upcoming World Cup will start before midnight in India. Even the final, which will be held on July 19 at New Jersey Stadium, will start at 12:30 noon. In 2022 (Qatar) 44 of 64 games started before midnight and in 2018 (Russia) 63 of 64 games started before midnight.“The timing is weird. The timing in the U.S. is going to be tough for India. When we [Ten Sports] Neeraj Jha, head of sports for India and South Asia at Warner Bros., said: “With the rights to West Indies cricket, people are spending more time watching highlights than live matches.” Discover.The timing of the games makes a big difference. Unlike cricket, football has limited ad inventory due to fewer suspensions. Although FIFA has created a mandatory three-minute water break for broadcasters in the first and second half. This is an additional opportunity in India, where sports broadcasting relies heavily on advertising rather than subscriptions.British viewers watch the World Cup for free via the BBC and ITV, but this is part of their tax structure. In the United States, Fox One will cost at least $19.99 to broadcast the World Cup. In comparison, the 2022 World Cup in India is live streaming for free on JioCinema and Rs 12 on Sports18 HD. Not surprisingly, linear TV audiences are switching to digital, and ad revenue is following suit.

“The ARPU (average revenue per user) market in India is lower for sports, gaming and anything that requires upfront fees. The main reason for the decline is the dominance of cricket. This is a function of how the brand wants to be consumed. Brands want to spend their money on something eye-catching, and right now the focus is on cricket. ” said Rohit Potphode, Managing Partner, Sports, Gaming, Esports and Live Experiences, Dentsu India.“Kick-off times are the main hurdle, especially for spectators. Purists and crazy people still log in, but not everyone.“Also, the (Lionel) Messi-(Cristiano) Ronaldo era seems to have faded a bit. In India, AIFF is in serious disarray. So, this affects the trade side, not the audience side. So it’s a combination of reasons from the consumer or trade side,” he explained.Non-cricket spending falls

But is this an ominous sign? WPP Media’s India Sports Sponsorship Report 2025 says the sports industry will double from 2021 to 2025, but the value of the non-cricket market is only 11%.It doesn’t help that the upcoming FIFA World Cup is less than two weeks away from the end of the IPL. By then, many brands had exhausted their ad spend on sports.Between 2013 and 2016, broadcast rights for three seasons of the Premier League were sold for $145 million. However, the latest broadcast rights price for the 2025-28 season is US$65 million, a decrease of 55.17%. La Liga’s broadcast rights passed through a number of services before landing on Dream11’s FanCode.

All in all, is India’s absence a big blow to FIFA? In 2024, FIFA budgeted US$3.9 billion as revenue from broadcast rights for the 2026 tournament. If $35 million is the going rate in the region, it’s less than one percent of the total coffers.The impact, however, is in the long-term approach, reach and exposure of the product. “They are [FIFA] They’re not just looking at this year, next year or the year after; they’re looking at 10 years. ” said Rohit Potphode.“There may be a short-term loss of capital or revenue. But it won’t affect profits. They are in the green. Money is not an issue. It’s about staying strong and continuing to grow over the next 10 years, rather than just seeing the next few years,” he continued.What to do next?​​​

Potphode explained that FIFA had no intention of selling its properties at a low price and was “absolutely fine” in terms of commercial ambitions.“They’ve got FIFA+ as a direct-to-consumer platform, so worst case scenario, they’re going to go there. But they are very clear that they do not want to dilute the value or equity that they have built in the market over the past few years,” explained Dentsu-owned Potphode, which holds the full media rights license for the 2026 FIFA World Cup in Japan.Last Friday was the deadline for a final bid or offer, but an extension is not out of the question. However, with the tournament still months to weeks away, any potential broadcasters will need time to finalize a deal and create assets for marketing. Anything later than a week makes no marketing sense.An industry insider believes that JioStar is the main contender to acquire the rights and is waiting for the last moment when the price is right. “They have a good distribution profile and can make a lot of money that way. Their streaming business is also strong, so it makes business sense for them,” one industry veteran explained.

A last-ditch Hail Mary involved public broadcaster Doordarshan, which broadcast the 1998 World Cup in France.For this to happen, major broadcasters need to step in to share rights. It is unclear how the entire FIFA World Cup, which does not involve India, will constitute a sporting event of national importance, which is required under the Sports Broadcasting Signals (Mandatory Sharing with Prasar Bharati) Act. Best case scenario, the semi-finals and finals could be shared.As things stand, India has no official broadcaster to showcase the greatest spectacle on earth. But it’s not all doom and gloom. It may change soon.