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- FIFA World Cup 2026: India, China Yet To Buy Broadcasting Rights; Global Reach Doubtful
New Delhi7 hours ago
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The FIFA World Cup 2026 will be played from June 11 to July 26.
No company has yet purchased the broadcasting rights of FIFA World Cup 2026 in India-China. Even in Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam and Sri Lanka, no company is showing interest for the rights. If the situation continues like this, then about 300 crore people of the world will not be able to watch the biggest football tournament.
The FIFA World Cup will be played jointly by America, Canada and Mexico from June 11 to July 19. 48 teams will participate in this tournament and 104 matches will be played.
The United States, Canada and Mexico are joint hosts of the FIFA World Cup 2026.
Why have the broadcasting rights not been purchased yet?
FIFA had initially demanded $100 million (Rs 948 crore) for the rights of the matches. When no buyer was found, its price was reduced to $35 million (approximately Rs 332 crore). There are three big reasons for not buying broadcasting rights in India or other countries…
- Timing of matches is not right according to IndiaThe biggest problem for football fans in India is time. Of the 104 matches to be played in the tournament, only 14 will start before 12 midnight. All other matches including the final will start after 12 midnight Indian time. In the 2022 World Cup, 44 out of 64 matches started before midnight. Companies fear that very few people will watch the match on this night. China and other countries also have the same problem. The matches of the 2022 Qatar World Cup started before 12 midnight Indian time.
- Lack of competition and impact of cricketViacom18 had given approximately $62 million (Rs 450 to 500 crore) for the 2022 World Cup. Whereas Sony had spent 90 million dollars (about Rs 600 crore) for 2014 and 2018. Now broadcasting companies Viacom18 and Hotstar have merged. This has reduced competition in the market. Another big reason is that FIFA is starting only two weeks after the end of IPL. In India, companies spend their entire marketing budget on IPL. According to a Times of India report, 89% of the money in India’s sports market is spent on cricket, leaving only 11% for all other sports. IPL is the biggest sports market in India.
- Subscription model does not work in IndiaIndia is a market where people do not want to pay a lot to watch sports. They even use third party apps to watch it for free. The 2022 World Cup was shown for free on JioCinema. Due to the habit of free, it has become difficult for the channels to recover money.
What will FIFA do if a buyer is not found?
Experts believe that ‘Jio-Star’ is deliberately waiting for the last moment, so that FIFA can further reduce the rates of rights. If no one buys, FIFA can stream the matches on its own app ‘FIFA+’.
One last option is that the government should declare it a game of ‘national importance’ and show it on Doordarshan, but for this also the support of a private company is necessary.
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