WITH THE CLOCK ticking for next month’s scheduled kick-off of the Indian Super League, uncertainty is the name of the game regarding ISL’s broadcast future.
The All India Football Federation held the official pre-bid conference on Friday for the ISL 2025–26 season, where interested parties were given the opportunity to raise operational, technical and commercial queries. Per the RPF, clarification requests can be submitted until January 27. AIFF has set 5:00 pm IST on February 1 as the final deadline for bid submissions.
Four companies were present at the virtual meeting: Sony Sports, FanCode, Zee Sports and UK-based sports consultancy Two Circles.
Zee, Sony and FanCode have all previously been in the Indian football broadcasting ecosystem, with Sony previously broadcasting the Durand Cup and the I-League.
FanCode, meanwhile, streamed the men’s football team’s CAFA Nations Cup matches as well as the AFC Asian Cup qualifiers last year.
Zee, on the other hand, was the commercial partner of India’s premier men’s division – then the I-League — between 2005 and 2014.
Founded in 2011, Two Circles initially started as an international sports and entertainment marketing business and expanded into live production and streaming after acquiring Spring Media Group in 2024.
Having also acquired platforms like KORE Intelligence and Staylive, Two Circles has had commercial partnerships with the Professional Squash Association and Scottish Premier Division side Aberdeen FC in the past.
Media rights on offer
Per KhelNow, the RFP offers a comprehensive bundle of media rights. These include live television broadcast, digital and OTT streaming, and mobile transmission. Additionally, the successful bidder must manage world-feed production and all matchday programming.
AIFF has also mandated the production of both clean feeds and commercial-ready feeds, complete with commentary, graphics, data integration and studio shows. Notably, the rights extend worldwide, requiring bidders to outline a clear international distribution strategy.
Earlier, all 14 ISL clubs, including debutants Inter Kashi, confirmed their participation. The ISL 2025–26 season will follow a single home-and-away league format, resulting in 91 matches overall.
To manage the compressed calendar, matches will largely be scheduled as double-headers on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays. Kick-off timings have also been finalised, with games starting at 5:30 PM and 7:00 PM. There will also be matches on Thursday but single ones.
