BENGALURU: Officials from FIFA have spent considerable time in India over the last few days in the hope of securing a partner for the upcoming World Cup in US, Mexico and Canada. The world governing body have been hunting for a broadcast partner but broadcasters, while showing interest, have stayed away from meeting the $100mn price for the next two World Cups (2026 and 2030).
When FIFA launched the media rights tender in the Indian subcontinent in July 2025, they had set the last date for submission of tender as September 2. But because no companies were willing to meet an unwritten price — thought to be in the region of $100mn — FIFA slashed these rates to make it more attractive. But media companies have still stayed away.
A couple of reasons why Indian broadcasters have shunned away from aggressively bidding for the World Cup is the unattractive kickoff times. With most matches set to begin after 11.00 PM, the return on investment may not be all that appealing. There's also the lack of a competition this time out following the merger between Jio and Star. For JioStar, it's also a matter of keeping some powder dry for bidding for the next set of rights for the Indian Premier League post the 2027 edition.
It's thought that JioStar may bid if the prices are slashed further but it's understood that officials are yet to visit their office over the last few days. Jio, who held the rights for the Qatar World Cup before the merger, had secured that event for about $62mn.
Sony are another option but they have conscientiously stayed away from bidding wars. Beside, their networks will have the upcoming India men and women's tour of England on TV at the same time as the World Cup. In a way, Sony has been the default pitstop for international matches (they are the existing rights holder for Euros as well as most of the World Cup qualifiers). Sony also broadcasted the 2014 and 2018 World Cups, with the former being in a similar time zone with matches typically beginning at5 10.30 PM and going on till 8.15 AM IST.
Doordarshan is always an option as they can carry events of national importance. So if nothing else, Indian viewers may be able to see the semis and the finals, if no other broadcaster is able to come to an arrangement. If the past is anything to go by, broadcasters usually find an arrangement to make a deal. In 2002 for instance, Ten Sports bagged the rights with 40 days to go for the event.
