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FIFA World Cup Broadcast Stuck, Doordarshan Steps Back

FIFA World Cup 2026: Indian Football Fans Will Not Be Able to Watch World’s Biggest Sporting Event

Prasar Bharati has clearly told the Delhi High Court that it is not its responsibility to buy the broadcast rights for the FIFA World Cup 2026.

The FIFA World Cup 2026 is just a few weeks away. The tournament will begin on 12 June in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. But in India, the broadcast rights are still not decided. Now, Doordarshan has stepped away from taking the rights. This is worrying for Indian football fans, because without rights, the event may not be shown in India.

A petition was filed in the Delhi High Court. It asked the court to direct Prasar Bharati (Doordarshan) to show World Cup matches free-to-air. The petition asked for the opening match, quarter-finals, semi-finals, and final to be shown on DD and DD Sports.

On 19 May, the petitioner’s lawyer, Avdhesh Bairwa, asked for permission to withdraw the petition. Earlier, on 12 May, the court had sent notices to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and Prasar Bharati.

Prasar Bharati’s big statement
According to an India Today report, Prasar Bharati clearly told the Delhi High Court that buying the broadcast rights for the FIFA World Cup 2026 is not its responsibility. This has made the situation more confusing. Now there is no clarity on where fans in India will watch the World Cup.

Why are the rights not being sold?
At first, FIFA set the price for India and the 2030 World Cup rights at about 100 million dollars. Later, it reduced the price to 35 million dollars. After that, JioStar offered 20 million dollars, but FIFA rejected the offer.

Timing is also a problem. Because matches are in the United States, they will start around 12:30 at night or early morning in India. This may reduce TV ratings and advertisement earnings.

Also, Indian broadcasters have already spent a lot of money on IPL and cricket. They are hesitant to spend heavily on football.

In the 2022 Qatar World Cup, even though India did not qualify, it became FIFA’s biggest engagement market. It was told in court that Indian fans made 745.7 million interactions. Despite such a large audience, no deal has been finalised yet.

Very little time is left before the World Cup starts. If no broadcaster is found, millions of football fans in India may be disappointed. Prasar Bharati saying in court that it is not their responsibility is worrying. Now, everyone is watching FIFA, Prasar Bharati, and private broadcasters to see what happens next. There is hope that fans will soon get good news and will be able to watch their favourite football stars playing football matches live.