THE INTERNATIONAL CRICKET COUNCIL is confronting a significant hurdle ahead of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026, with Reliance Industries-controlled JioStar formally informing the governing body that it cannot continue servicing the remaining two years of its four-year India media-rights agreement due to substantial financial losses, according to multiple sources cited by Economic Times.
In response, the ICC has launched a fresh sale process for India media rights for the 2026–29 cycle and is reportedly seeking around $2.4 billion. The current 2024–27 cycle was valued at $3 billion, covering one major men’s tournament each year.
With JioStar signalling its withdrawal from a contract that runs until 2027, the ICC has approached Sony Pictures Networks India (SPNI), Netflix, and Amazon Prime Video to assume the rights. However, none of these platforms has shown firm interest so far, primarily due to pricing concerns, leaving the ICC without an immediate solution.
JioStar’s financial strain is evident, its provisions for expected losses arising from onerous sports contracts more than doubled in 2024–25 to Rs 25,760 crore, up from Rs 12,319 crore the previous year, as per its audited standalone financials. The increase highlights the pressure from long-term sports and content rights that are expected to deliver returns below execution costs, ET reports.
Similarly, Star India, prior to merging with Viacom18, posted a standalone net loss of Rs 12,548 crore for FY24, largely fuelled by a Rs 12,319-crore provision related to its ICC media-rights agreement.
Despite these setbacks for broadcasters, the ICC reported a surplus of $474 million in 2024, underscoring cricket’s robust commercial strength even as JioStar absorbs significant losses.
