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Millions May Miss World Cup as Broadcast Talks Falter
4 May
Summary
- India and China broadcast rights negotiations remain deadlocked.
- Reliance-Disney offered $20 million, significantly less than FIFA's ask.
- China and India together represent over 22% of global digital viewership.
Soccer fans in India and China face the possibility of missing the World Cup, which is set to begin in just over five weeks. Negotiations for broadcast rights in both populous nations have hit a snag. In India, a Reliance-Disney joint venture reportedly offered $20 million for the 2026 and 2030 World Cup rights, a figure substantially lower than FIFA's initial demand of $100 million.
Meanwhile, China, which accounted for nearly half of global digital viewing hours in the 2022 World Cup, has yet to announce any official broadcast agreement. This lack of confirmed deals is atypical, as state broadcaster CCTV in China typically secured rights well in advance for past tournaments. For the 2022 World Cup, China and India combined represented over 22% of total global digital streaming reach.
The tight timeline means that finalizing a deal, setting up broadcast infrastructure, and selling advertising inventory must occur rapidly. Reliance and Disney believe lower viewership is likely in India due to the tournament's location and late-night match timings. Football's commercial appeal in India, while growing, still lags behind cricket, further complicating revenue expectations amidst an advertising slowdown.
