With the negotiations for broadcasting rights between China and India at a standstill, hundreds of millions of soccer fans in the two most populous countries in the world may miss out on watching the World Cup opening in June.
According to a report by Reuters on Monday (May 4th), in India, the joint venture of Reliance and Disney has bid $20 million for the broadcasting rights of the 2026 World Cup, which falls far below FIFA’s asking price, leading to an impasse.
Last week, mainland Chinese media reported that sources in the sports industry disclosed that China’s state broadcaster CCTV bid $60-80 million for FIFA’s broadcasting rights. However, due to the low offer, a deadlock has been reached, potentially preventing the mainland from broadcasting the World Cup live.
The 2026 World Cup is set to kick off on June 11th, leaving less than five weeks to finalize broadcasting rights agreements, set up broadcasting infrastructure, and sell advertising spots.
FIFA stated that during the 2022 World Cup, Chinese users accounted for nearly 49.8% of viewing time on global digital and social media platforms.
In a statement provided to Reuters, FIFA announced agreements with broadcasting companies in over 175 regions worldwide.
The statement read, “Discussions between China and India regarding the sale of media rights for the 2026 FIFA World Cup are ongoing and confidential at this stage.”
FIFA indicated the need to ensure the majority of revenues from ticket sales, TV broadcasting rights, and licensed merchandise sales can cover the costs of organizing and managing over 200 leagues, competitions, and events across six continents.
Approaching the World Cup with only a month left, the absence of formal broadcasting agreements with India or China is uncommon.
In previous World Cup events such as in 2018 and 2022, CCTV in China had secured broadcasting rights in advance, airing promotional content and sponsor advertisements weeks before the competitions commenced.
In the global linear TV ratings for the 2022 World Cup, China held a 17.7% share while India had 2.9%. Together, the two countries represented 22.6% of the global digital streaming ratings for that edition.
According to circulating information, FIFA seeks to raise China’s broadcasting rights to between $250-300 million, doubling the amount from the previous Qatar World Cup. However, CCTV is only willing to offer $60-80 million, citing limited viewership and commercial value.
China boasts around 200 million soccer fans, more than any other country, yet has not fielded a world-class team for international competitions.
With just 40 days remaining until the World Cup commencement, the topic of broadcasting rights in mainland China has garnered attention on social media platforms.
As per official Chinese regulations, exclusive negotiations to purchase broadcasting rights within China for major international sporting events are handled by CCTV, which then distributes the rights to other platforms.
In 2025, CCTV’s refusal to broadcast several of China’s men’s national team World Cup qualifiers due to high pricing sparked protests among fans.
Former CCTV sports commentator Wang Tao mentioned that previous World Cup broadcasting rights deals were typically settled six months before the tournament, making the current situation, with just over a month left until the opening, unprecedented.
While football was once hailed as China’s national sport, the continuous absence of the national team from the World Cup over six editions has dampened domestic enthusiasm among fans, leading to decreased advertising investments. Additionally, with this year’s World Cup being jointly hosted by the USA, Canada, and Mexico, with 70% of matches scheduled during early morning hours in Beijing time, viewership projections might not be optimistic, potentially causing advertising revenues to struggle to balance the exorbitant broadcasting rights costs.
Wang Tao emphasized that with barely over a month left to finalize broadcasting rights and a similar timeframe for sponsorship deals, major brands need to hasten negotiations with CCTV, while secondary platforms should promptly present their bids, allowing CCTV to negotiate with FIFA.
Should CCTV decline the broadcasting rights, other platforms would not have the authority to directly acquire them, leaving the mainland with no legal channel to broadcast the World Cup.
In Hong Kong, Now TV holds the broadcasting rights for the World Cup, while Macau’s rights are held by TDM.
Football remains a niche sport in India, significantly overshadowed by the popularity of cricket. Sources indicated that initially, FIFA sought $100 million for India’s broadcasting rights for the 2026 and 2030 World Cups.
An insider at FIFA told Reuters, “FIFA hopes the broadcasting rights for this edition of the World Cup will stay at a comparable price to the previous deal.”
In 2022, the independent media arm of the Reliance Group secured the broadcasting rights for approximately $60 million, a revelation that surfaced about 14 months before the Qatar World Cup.
Stating that FIFA later significantly lowered the $100 million asking price, the source also considered Reliance Group’s $20 million bid as too low.
Rohit Potphode, a partner at Dentsu India’s sports business management division, expressed optimism, likening the situation to a chess game where only a few moves remain as the World Cup kickoff draws near.