Reliance-controlled JioStar has formally notified the International Cricket Council (ICC) that it cannot service the remaining two years of its four-year India media-rights contract, citing heavy financial losses that have made the deal commercially unviable, as per the Economic Times (ET).
As a result, the ICC has initiated a fresh sale process for the 2026–29 India rights cycle and is seeking around $2.4 billion. For context, the existing 2024–27 cycle is valued at $3 billion and includes one major men’s tournament each year, according to officials that the Economic Times has quoted.Â
With JioStar signalling its intention to exit a contract that runs until 2027, the ICC has approached Sony Pictures Networks India, Netflix and Amazon Prime Video to assess their interest in taking over the rights. However, none of the platforms has so far shown substantive interest because of pricing concerns. Notably, if the ICC is unable to find a new broadcaster, JioStar will still have to fulfil the contract till 2027. Â
Financial disclosures also underline the scale of the broadcaster’s strain. JioStar more than doubled its provisions for losses on onerous sports contracts to Rs 25,760 crore in FY25, up from Rs 12,319 crore a year earlier, according to its audited standalone financials. Despite these pressures on broadcasters, the ICC itself recorded a $474 million surplus in 2024.
Why Is JioStar Backing Out?
JioStar’s retreat reflects a broader correction underway in India’s sports broadcasting market. Most critically, the ban on real-money gaming (RMG), previously the single biggest category of cricket advertisers, has created an estimated $840 million (around Rs 7,000 crore) annual advertising gap that no other sector has been able to fill, executives told the Economic Times. Although traditional advertisers have returned, revenue has not recovered to prior levels, they added. At the same time, structural challenges remain. These are a subdued advertising sector, linear television facing pressure from a shrinking pay-TV subscriber base, and streaming businesses continue to operate at a loss, according to executives quoted by ET.
The 2025 prohibition on RMG and associated advertising in India has delivered a major jolt to the country’s sports advertising industry. Industry insiders estimate that the ban threatens to wipe out roughly Rs 10,000 crore from India’s ad-expenditure (AdEx), much of which previously flowed through RMG and fantasy-gaming platforms. The impact is especially acute for the Indian Premier League (IPL) and broader cricket sponsorship, with forecasts of a 25 % plunge in IPL advertising revenues, equivalent to around Rs 1,500 crore.Â
Zee backtracking, US dollar exchange rates affecting JioStar fortunes
And in JioStar’s context, the media conglomerate has inherited a deal many industry leaders view as overpriced. Several senior executives consider the $3 billion ICC valuation to be…
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