The International Cricket Council (ICC) is in a difficult situation just two months before the 2026 ICC T20 World Cup, after JioStar, a subsidiary of Reliance Industries, officially informed the ICC that it is going to stop the existing media rights agreement with them. The exit has come about though there are still two years left in the four year contract, and it is said to be a result of heavy financial losses that have affected JioStar’s sports broadcast commitments and the drain of JioStar’s sports broadcast commitments.
Who Is ICC In Talks With?
The ICC has already set in motion a new cycle of Indian media rights sale, 2026-29 period, in response to the unexpected withdrawal. The amount being looked at is US $2.4 billion. The previous 2024-27 rights were valued at about US $3 billion but early outreach to significant broadcasters and streaming platforms like Sony Pictures Networks India (SPNI), Netflix, and Amazon Prime Video yielded no interest, as the asking price is still very high.
What Is The Reason For JioStar’s Exit?
The reasons for JioStar’s departure, mainly of a financial nature, run pretty deep, the firm had already tripled its expectations for losses on sports contracts in the financial year 2024-25 to a whopping ₹25,760 crore up from ₹12,319 crore the year before. This was quite a turnaround for the company’s predecessor, which had not only incurred a massive standalone net loss but also attributed it mainly to the high cost of the ICC media rights deal. On the other hand, ICC is still generating some good surpluses, which indicates that global cricket revenues are very much reliant on the Indian broadcast market. With other media companies not willing to enter the fray, the ICC is now in a situation with no clarity if it fails to get a new broadcaster, JioStar might have no option but to see through the current contract till 2027 thereby contributing to increased uncertainty in what had been envisioned as a smooth transition to cricket’s biggest tournaments.
