The media rights for broadcast of next month’s football World Cup matches in India are still in a state of flux with suspense over Zee Network’s decision to enter the fray as a contender.
JioHotstar was in advanced talks, but with Fifa refusing to scale down from its valuation of $35m, nothing concrete developed.
Shaji Prabhakaran, former AIFF general secretary, on Saturday said on X that negotiations had been completed and an official announcement was “expected next week”.
However, two likely contenders have refused to confirm the development. For such a deal to happen, Fifa has to scale down the valuation to around $20m.
Sony and Fancode have long backed out. Zee, which is preparing a return to sports broadcasting, is reportedly serious about its intentions.
Ian Wilson of Fifa TV Services had led a delegation to India and returned after inconclusive talks with several parties in New Delhi and Mumbai.
The 48-team tournament, being hosted by Canada, Mexico and the US, begins on June 11. As the matches are in an “unfriendly time zone”, there’s a lack of interest from broadcasters. Fifa had initially quoted close to $100 million for rights to the 2026 and 2030 editions combined, but slashed it to nearly $35m amid weak market interest.
Sources says Zee is open to negotiations. Zee and JioHotstar are already embroiled in a multi-front legal battle over collapsed ICC cricket rights, besides unauthorised movie broadcasts.
“Commercial revenue will be difficult to generate since 90 of the 104 matches will be held after midnight and early morning in India. There’s barely any time left to market the event,” a source told The Telegraph.
Last week, Fifa signed a deal with China Media Group to telecast the tournament in China.