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Fans across China and India, whose combined population reaches an enormous 2.88 billion people, may find themselves unable to watch the 2026 World Cup this summer as broadcasting rights negotiations remain unresolved.
Catching the world's greatest soccer spectacle is already set to be a challenge for certain fan communities around the world. Significant time zone differences mean matches in North America will kick off in the dead of night for nations such as Egypt, Algeria, and Tunisia, to name a few.
Even so, supporters in those nations can at least set their alarms to follow the action. Fans in China and India, however, currently have no such option for the marquee tournament.
According to Reuters, India remains at a standstill with FIFA over broadcasting rights, while China has yet to make any headway toward securing a deal. With the World Cup now just five weeks out, neither nation has a broadcast agreement in place.
Breaking Down India, China's World Cup Broadcast Disputes
FIFA has already secured broadcast agreements with 175 countries ahead of the World Cup. FOX Sports holds the rights in the U.S., while BBC Sport and ITV share coverage duties in the U.K. In Australia, SBS serves as the tournament's home broadcaster, with Match TV filling that role in Russia.
Yet both India and China, the planet's two most populous countries, still lack an official broadcaster. According to Reuters, a Reliance-Disney joint venture put forward a $20 million offer for World Cup rights, but FIFA, who had initially sought $100 million, rejected the bid.
The governing body has since reportedly lowered its asking price to $60 million — the same figure Reliance paid to secure broadcasting rights for the 2022 World Cup.
While talks remain stalled in India, progress in China appears even more limited. For the previous two World Cups, Chinese state broadcaster CCTV locked in exclusive broadcasting rights and had promotional content and sponsorships arranged well ahead of time.
For the 2026 edition, China is still without a deal, a situation widely regarded as "unusual" at this point in the process.
FIFA Respond to Broadcast Concerns
FIFA issued the following statement to Reuters concerning the lack of progress in both India and China: "Discussions in China and India regarding the sale of media rights for the FIFA World Cup 2026 are ongoing and must remain confidential at this stage."
It is safe to assume FIFA will make securing deals in both countries a top priority in the lead-up to this summer's tournament. The governing body confirmed that China alone accounted for 49.8% of all viewing hours across digital and social platforms during the 2022 World Cup.
In terms of television audiences, China represented 17.7% and India 2.9%, combining for a 22.6% share of the total global viewership for the Qatar edition of the competition.
Whatever agreements are reached, they will need to come together swiftly, given that the World Cup gets underway on June 11. There is precious little time remaining for prolonged negotiations, deal finalization, advertisement sales, and everything else that must fall into place before the action begins.