FIFA World Cup Broadcast Deal in India Still Elusive

With just over three weeks to go until the FIFA World Cup kicks off in Mexico, India, the world's most populous nation, is on the verge of missing out on the biggest sporting event. FIFA hasn't found any buyers for broadcasting its most coveted product in India, despite a huge following for the 2022 tournament in Qatar, where Argentina's Gonzalo Montiel converted a penalty to seal his country's third FIFA World Cup title.

Lionel Messi fan Vishwas Banerjee, who watched the 2022 World Cup final on a big screen at a street crossing in Bangalore, a football-crazy city in southeastern India, is heartbroken that India won't have a reliable way to watch the World Cup this year. He added that fans will tune into pirated streams anyway. They're likely to do so because they don't have a better option.

The lack of a broadcast deal in India is surprising, given that the country had a huge following for the 2022 World Cup. According to figures released by FIFA, India trailed only China in overall engagement figures, with more than 745 million fans following the action across all media platforms in the country. It's a significant number, and it's clear that Indians are interested in football.

In television viewing numbers, India was among the top 10 countries, with nearly 84 million viewers. This suggests that there's a big audience for football in India.

Digital viewership numbers were also significant in India. For the 2022 World Cup final alone, an unprecedented 32 million viewers tuned in on Reliance's JioCinema, a subscription video-on-demand over-the-top streaming service, as the tournament clocked 40 billion minutes of watch time on the platform. This shows that Indians are willing to watch football online.

Reliance's Jio paid $60m for tournament rights in 2022, while Sony Sports secured broadcasting rights for the 2014 and 2018 FIFA World Cups, as well as the Euro 2016 championship, for around $90m in 2013. These deals were expensive, but they allowed Indians to watch football.

The main concern for Indian broadcasters is the kickoff times for the majority of the matches, with the tournament being staged in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Many games will be played at odd hours for the Indian audience, with a 10-12 hour time difference between the host cities and India. Only 14 out of the total 104 World Cup games will begin before midnight for fans in India. This makes it difficult for Indians to watch the games live.

Karan Taurani, executive vice president at investment firm Elara Capital, sees TV as a “struggling” medium in India. When you have these kinds of sporting events, it's mostly digital that's monetising and raising big money, Taurani told Al Jazeera. That's a big reason why no one's showing interest in the FIFA World Cup. They don't think it's worth the cost.

The price of football streaming in India has been going down anyway. The English Premier League rights, which were sold for $145m for three seasons between 2013 and 2016, went for $65m for 2025-28. This reduction in price suggests that the market for football streaming in India isn't as strong as it used to be.

There are no major takers for La Liga matches in India. This lack of interest is a problem for FIFA.

FIFA appears increasingly concerned that weak broadcaster interest in India could dent both revenues and its long-term ambition to grow football in one of the world’s largest media markets. It's worried that it won't be able to reach Indian fans.

In the capital New Delhi, the high court is hearing a plea on the lack of a tournament broadcast deal and has sought responses from India’s information and broadcasting ministry and Doordarshan, India’s state-owned public television broadcaster. The court is trying to find a solution to the problem.

Without timely judicial intervention by this court, the petitioner and millions of Indian citizens will be irreparably deprived of their fundamental rights with no adequate alternative remedy, the petitioner, a lawyer and football fan, has said in the plea. The petitioner believes that the court needs to act quickly.

The petitioner claims that missing out on the tournament violates the constitutional protections of freedom of speech. By denying access to the information in question or by not taking necessary steps to broadcast the FIFA World Cup, the respondents have directly infringed the petitioner’s fundamental right to acquire and receive information, which is an integral part of freedom of speech and expression under the constitution, the petitioner argued in the plea. The petitioner thinks that this is a serious issue.

With China’s state broadcaster signing a late World Cup deal with FIFA last week, there’s still hope and time for football fans in India. However, if no deal is signed, all eyes will turn to Doordarshan, which last beamed the tournament in 1998. The continuing uncertainty is chipping away at the excitement of the football World Cup. It's a frustrating situation for Indian fans.

However, the situation isn't unique to India. In many countries, broadcasting rights for major sporting events are often sold at high prices, making it difficult for local broadcasters to purchase them. This can lead to a situation where fans are unable to watch their favorite teams or events, which can be frustrating and disappointing. It's a common problem in the sports industry.

As the situation continues, it's unclear whether a broadcast deal will be reached in time for the World Cup. For now, Indian football fans like Vishwas Banerjee will have to rely on pirated streams to watch the tournament. They don't have a better option, and they won't give up on watching the World Cup.