World Cup viewing in doubt for millions of fans in India and China

In India, a Reliance-Disney joint venture has offered $20 million for 2026 World Cup broadcast rights, a fraction of FIFA’s ask, which was not acceptable to soccer’s global governing body, two sources told Reuters on Monday. Sony held talks but also decided not to make an offer for FIFA rights for India, a third source with direct knowledge said. There has also ​been no deal announcement for China, which FIFA says accounted for 49.8% of all hours of viewing on digital and social platforms globally during ​the 2022 World Cup.

FIFA did not respond to a Reuters request for comment. Reliance-Disney, a joint venture led by billionaire Mukesh ⁠Ambani’s Reliance did not respond to requests for comment, and neither did Sony. The lack of a confirmed broadcast agreement with India or China is unusual at this ​stage.

CCTV, which has extensive reach across television and digital platforms, did not immediately return a request for comment. China accounted for 17.7% and India 2.9% of the global linear TV reach of the 2022 tournament. The two countries together accounted for 22.6% of total global digital streaming reach for that World Cup.

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The 2026 tournament kicks off on June 11, leaving barely five weeks ​for a deal to be finalised, broadcast infrastructure to be set up and advertising inventory to be sold.HUGE SOCCER FOLLOWING IN INDIA, CHINAFor India, FIFA initially sought $100 ​million for broadcast rights for the 2026 and 2030 World Cups, the sources said, declining to be named because the talks are private.When the World Cup last aired in India ‌in 2022, ⁠Reliance’s then-standalone media arm secured the rights for about $60 million, which was announced around 14 months before the event in Qatar. The tournament drew over 110 million digital viewers across its platforms. Reliance and Disney have since formed a joint venture to emerge as a dominant force in India’s media and streaming landscape, and the $20 million FIFA offer underscores the negotiating power the Indian group commands.

FIFA had significantly lowered its ask from the $100 million earlier, but has not been keen on the $20 million figure Reliance ​offered, one source said.Reliance-Disney, which has spent ​billions on cricket broadcast rights, believes ⁠the World Cup will have lower viewership in India as the tournament is being held in the United States, Canada and Mexico, and most matches will air past midnight in India, the sources said. China has around 200 million soccer fans, more ​than any other country, but has failed to build world-class teams, partly due to a top-down approach where clubs pick ​players from a very ⁠small pool of pre-screened candidates.

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