The International Cricket Council (ICC) is confronting a major media rights challenge just two months ahead of the 2026 T20 World Cup in India, after Reliance Industries-controlled JioStar informed the ICC of its intent to withdraw from the broadcasting deal. The decision comes despite two years remaining on the four-year contract, reportedly due to substantial financial losses.
Following JioStar’s formal notice, the ICC has restarted the sale of media rights for the 2026–29 cycle in India, targeting $2.4 billion. By comparison, the 2024–27 rights were valued at $3 billion and included at least one men’s tournament each year. The ICC reportedly approached Sony Pictures Networks India (SPNI), Netflix, and Amazon Prime Video, but no broadcaster has yet agreed due to the high valuation, leaving the council in a challenging position.
If the ICC is unable to secure a new broadcaster, JioStar may have to fulfill the remaining contract until 2027.
JioStar’s Financial Pressures
The company’s audited standalone financials show that JioStar doubled its provisions for expected losses on sports contracts in 2024–25 to INR 25,760 crore from INR 12,319 crore the previous year. This reflected long-term content rights expected to generate lower revenue than anticipated.
Before merging with Viacom18, Star India reported a net loss of INR 12,548 crore for the year ended March 31, 2024, largely due to the costly ICC media rights deal. Meanwhile, the ICC recorded a $474 million surplus in 2024, highlighting cricket’s strong commercial performance, even as JioStar faces heavy losses.
JioStar’s financial strain was further aggravated by the Indian government’s ban on real-money gaming, which removed a key source of advertising revenue. The exit of platforms like Dream11 and My11Circle resulted in an estimated $840 million (₹7,000 crore) shortfall.
Broadcasters’ Stance
Despite being a major broadcaster, SPNI considers the ICC’s pricing high, and Netflix remains cautious, focusing mainly on WWE rights. Amazon Prime Video holds limited cricket rights in New Zealand until 2026 and in Australia until 2027. SPNI has previously sub-licensed digital media rights for the India–England Test series to JioStar to reduce financial risk.
The ICC now faces an urgent task to secure media partners in India to ensure widespread coverage of the 2026 T20 World Cup, maintain fan engagement, and protect the sport’s commercial value.
