NEW DELHI, May 4 (Reuters) – Soccer fans in India and China, the world’s two most populous countries, might face challenges watching the upcoming World Cup due to unresolved broadcast rights in India and no official broadcast decision in China.
In India, a joint venture between Reliance and Disney proposed $20 million for the 2026 World Cup broadcast rights, significantly less than what FIFA demanded, according to two sources who spoke to Reuters. Sony 6758.T also held discussions but opted not to bid for the FIFA rights in India, a third source familiar with the situation revealed.
As for China, no broadcast agreement has been announced, even though FIFA reported that China accounted for 49.8% of all digital and social platform viewing hours worldwide during the 2022 World Cup.
FIFA, Reliance-Disney, and Sony did not respond to Reuters’ requests for comments. The absence of a confirmed broadcast agreement for India or China is unusual at this time.
In previous World Cups, such as those in 2018 and 2022, Chinese state broadcaster CCTV secured rights well in advance and began showing promotional content and advertisements weeks before the event.
CCTV, with its extensive reach across TV and digital platforms, did not return a request for comment immediately.
In the 2022 tournament, China contributed 17.7% and India 2.9% to the global linear TV audience. Together, they made up 22.6% of the total global digital streaming reach for that World Cup.
With the 2026 tournament set to begin on June 11, there are only about five weeks left to finalize a deal, establish broadcast infrastructure, and sell advertising slots.
HUGE SOCCER FOLLOWING IN INDIA, CHINA
FIFA initially requested $100 million from India for broadcast rights for the 2026 and 2030 World Cups, according to sources who asked to remain anonymous due to the private nature of the discussions.
In the 2022 event, Reliance’s standalone media arm previously acquired the rights for approximately $60 million, announced 14 months before the tournament in Qatar. That event attracted over 110 million digital viewers across its platforms.
Since then, Reliance and Disney DIS.N have formed a joint venture, positioning themselves as key players in India’s media and streaming sector. The $20 million offer from the joint venture highlights their negotiating strength.
Although FIFA significantly reduced its initial $100 million request, it remains unsatisfied with the $20 million offer from Reliance, one source added.
Reliance-Disney, heavily invested in cricket broadcasting rights, anticipates lower viewership for the World Cup in India since the matches, hosted in the United States, Canada, and Mexico, will mostly air past midnight in India, sources mentioned.
China, with approximately 200 million soccer enthusiasts, surpasses any other nation in fan numbers but struggles to develop world-class teams, partly due to a rigid system limiting player selection to a small, pre-screened pool.
According to another source, football in India lacks the commercial appeal of cricket, and an advertising downturn linked to the Iranian war has further diminished revenue expectations.
“Football is a niche segment in India,” one source remarked.
Sony, which operates TV channels and a streaming app in India, also chose not to acquire FIFA broadcast rights, citing financial impracticality, according to a 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,” commented Rohit Potphode, managing partner for sports at advertising agency Dentsu India.
