The FIFA World Cup 2026 is all set to begin from June 11, as fans across the globe wait for the event in anticipation. However, the football fans in India are still in limbo as there is still no confirmation on where they could watch the event. There has still not been any official word as to who will broadcast or stream the mega quadrennial football tournament. With China also reportedly finding a sponsor, it looks like India might finally have a streaming partner with digital giants YouTube Premium and Amazon Prime coming into the picture.
Sources close to the development have told Sports Now that FIFA is seeking a value of approximately ₹100 crore from Indian broadcasters for its official media rights, out of which one-third of the amount is for digital streaming rights alone. JioStar wanted the digital rights at a value which is four times lower. However, FIFA denied this proposal.
Dooradarshan is offering approximately ₹5 crore as the national broadcaster for only the knockout games of the FIFA World Cup 2026.
Sony, who are another big broadcasting giant, also opted out after they explored the sponsorship market, which was, according to them, 10 times less than what FIFA is demanding. This is because most of the matches will take place post midnight or early morning according to Indian Standard Time.
With all big broadcast giants opting out of the market, sources have said that it might be streaming giants YouTube Premium or Amazon Prime who can bag the official streaming rights of the FIFA World Cup 2026.
China was the other big market apart from India, who were without any official broadcasters or streaming partners for theFIFA World Cup 2026.
However, according to a report by Reuters, China Media Group (CMG), the parent company of China’s national broadcaster, have secured the media rights for the tournament with less than a month to go.
Ankan Kar is the Chief Correspondent and Team Lead at Sports Now, with over 10 plus years of journalism experience. He oversees all operations, from n...View More
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