WITH THE CLOCK TICKING down to the FIFA World Cup 2026 kick-off on June 12, the uncertainty around whether Indian football fans will be able to watch the tournament has further deepened. Public broadcaster Prasar Bharati has stated before the Delhi High Court that it is not obligated to acquire media rights to the world’s biggest sporting mega event.
The submissions were made on Wednesday during the hearing of a petition seeking directions to ensure the FIFA World Cup 2026 is broadcast in India through the pubcaster. The plea had specifically pushed for free-to-air telecast of key matches, including the opening game, quarter-finals, semi-finals and the final through platforms like Doordarshan and DD Sports.
The Delhi High Court had earlier issued notice to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and Prasar Bharati on May 12 after concerns emerged over the possibility that India could head into the World Cup without an official broadcaster.
According to the plea, FIFA initially valued the India rights package for the 2026 and 2030 World Cups at nearly $100 million before later reducing the asking price to around $35m for just the upcoming edition after limited interest from broadcasters. The petition also referred to media reports that FIFA had rejected a $20m offer from JioStar.
The petitioner argued that failing to ensure telecast of the tournament would effectively deprive Indian citizens of access to one of the world’s biggest sporting events despite the FIFA World Cup already being classified as a “sporting event of national importance” under the Sports Broadcasting Signals Act, 2007.
Senior Advocate Vaibhav Gaggar appeared for the petitioner, advocate Avdhesh Bairwa, while the plea itself was filed through a legal team from Hammurabi & Solomon Partners.
Prasar Bharati’s lawyer submitted before the single-judge bench of Justice Purushaindra Kaurav that judicial intervention at this stage was unwarranted.
Its submissions were, however, countered by Gaggar, who said that such a stance defeated the very legislative intent behind the Sports Broadcasting Signals (mandatory sharing with Prasar Bharati) Act, 2007. It was enacted precisely to ensure that sporting events of national importance are made accessible to the public across the country through mandatory broadcasting mechanisms, he submitted.
However, Gaggar withdrew the petition after Justice Kaurav suggested that Bairwa could pursue any other legal action available. The court dismissed the petition as withdrawn.
The World Cup is scheduled to be jointly hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico from June 11 to July 19. The 48-team tournament will have 104 matches played across 16 cities.
