Millions of soccer fans in the world’s two most populous nations may not be able to watch the World Cup that starts next month, due to a deadlock over broadcast rights in India and no official decision in 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 6758.T 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 RELI.NS, did not respond to requests for comment, and neither did Sony.
