Overview
- With roughly two months to kickoff, India has not sold the 2026 and 2030 World Cup media rights, leaving live coverage uncertain.
- FIFA cut the bundle price from about $100 million to $35 million after weak interest, a steep fall from the $62 million Viacom18 paid for 2022 alone.
- The Star–Viacom18 merger into JioStar shrank the field of bidders, while Sony Sports, Eurosport and FanCode have stayed cautious.
- Broadcasters face thin returns because cricket takes most ad money in India, football has fewer ad breaks, and North American match times fall late at night.
- Reports say JioStar values the package near $25 million and, if talks stall, FIFA may turn to FIFA Plus streaming, a fire-sale discount, or revenue sharing.