High Court
Delhi HC seeks Centre’s response on FIFA World Cup 2026 telecast
Plea seeks free-to-air broadcast of key FIFA World Cup 2026 matches.
MUMBAI: The world’s biggest football carnival may still be a year away, but the scramble for screens in India has already kicked off. The Delhi High Court on Tuesday issued notice to the Union Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) and Prasar Bharati on a plea seeking the broadcast of the FIFA World Cup 2026 in India, adding a fresh twist to the ongoing uncertainty around the tournament’s media rights in the country.
Justice Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav said the matter would be heard next week, while also observing that the reliefs sought in the petition appeared to be in the nature of a public interest litigation (PIL).
Appearing for the petitioner, Senior Advocate Vaibhav Gaggar told the Court that authorities were already “endeavouring” to address the issue and that “the Court’s nudge will help”.
The plea has been filed by Advocate Avdhesh Bairwa, who has sought directions to ensure that the FIFA World Cup 2026 is broadcast in India through public broadcaster Prasar Bharati. The petition specifically requests free-to-air telecast of the opening match, quarter-finals, semi-finals and final, while also urging authorities to secure rights for all 104 matches of the tournament.
The FIFA World Cup 2026, jointly hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico, is scheduled to run from June 11 to July 19, 2026. With the tournament expanding to 48 teams and 104 matches, it is set to become the largest edition in FIFA history.
The petition argues that India represents one of FIFA’s biggest global audiences, pointing to 745.7 million interactions recorded during the 2022 World Cup. Yet, despite the scale of Indian football viewership, no broadcaster has officially secured Indian media rights for the 2026 tournament so far.
According to the plea, FIFA reportedly slashed the valuation of India’s combined 2026 and 2030 World Cup rights package from US$100 million to US$35 million after muted market interest. A reported US$20 million bid by JioStar was also allegedly rejected.
The petitioner contended that the absence of a confirmed broadcaster could deprive Indian audiences of access to one of the world’s biggest sporting events, framing the issue as one connected to citizens’ right to receive information and access events of national and international significance.
The case also throws a spotlight on the shifting economics of sports broadcasting in India, where even premium global properties are facing tougher negotiations amid changing advertising dynamics, rising digital consumption and increasingly cautious media spending.
Arguments for the petitioner were led by Senior Advocate Vaibhav Gaggar, while the plea was filed through a legal team from Hammurabi & Solomon Partners comprising Advocates Ankit Konwar, Subhashni Kumari, Prateek Singh, Nishi Rathore, Nishi Kashyap, Abhishek Nair, Akash Kumar and Arpit Pandey.
