The International Cricket Council (ICC) has faced a major setback just two months ahead of the 2026 T20 World Cup in India, as Reliance-owned JioStar has informed the governing body of its intention to withdraw from its ongoing media rights agreement despite two years remaining on the contract.
As per media reports, the ICC has restarted the sale of India media rights for the 2026–29 cycle and has sought $2.4 billion. It has reportedly approached Sony Pictures Networks India (SPNI), Netflix and Amazon Prime Video, but none have shown interest owing to the high valuation. The ICC has therefore been placed in a difficult position.
If the ICC is unable to secure a new broadcaster, JioStar has no choice but to continue with the agreement until 2027.
JioStar has reportedly doubled its provisions for expected losses on sports contracts in 2024–25 to Rs 25,760 crore, up from Rs 12,319 crore a year earlier. The mounting losses have been attributed to long-term sports and content deals that have been expected to generate lower revenues than initially projected.
Prior to its merger with Viacom18, Star India has reported a net loss of Rs 12,548 crore for the year ending March 31, 2024, largely linked to the previous ICC media rights deal. In contrast, ICC has recorded a $474 million surplus in 2024, underscoring the commercial strength of global cricket even as broadcasters have struggled financially.
JioStar’s financial strain has increased following the ban on real-money gaming platforms in India, which has been the largest source of advertising revenue for cricket. The absence of these advertisers has created an estimated $840 million (Rs 7,000 crore) deficit in the market.
Meanwhile, SPNI has taken a conservative stance on high-value cricket properties despite holding key international rights, including those for the Asian Cricket Council, New Zealand Cricket and the England and Wales Cricket Board. The broadcaster has even sub-licensed digital rights for the India–England Test series earlier this year to JioStar to avoid further financial exposure.
Netflix has remained cautious about entering live sports in India and currently holds only a WWE deal. Amazon Prime Video, which has held New Zealand cricket rights until 2026 and ICC rights in Australia till 2027, has also not committed to expanding into major cricket tournaments in India.
