ICC looking for new media partners as Jiostar seeks exit from media rights deal

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has been pushed into a difficult situation just two months before the 2026 T20 World Cup in India. Jiostar, owned by Reliance Industries and The Walt Disney, has officially informed the ICC that it wants to walk away from its ongoing media rights agreement, despite having two years still left on the four-year contract. As reported by the Economic Times, the company is dealing with heavy financial losses that have made the deal unviable.

With Jiostar’s notice in hand, the ICC has reopened the bidding process for India’s media rights for the 2026–29 cycle, setting a target of $2.4 billion. For context, the 2024–27 rights cycle—featuring at least one men’s ICC event annually was valued at $3 billion. According to sources cited in the report, the ICC approached Sony Pictures Networks India, Netflix, and Amazon Prime Video, but none showed interest due to the steep pricing.

If the ICC fails to find a replacement broadcaster, Jiostar will have to continue under the existing contract until 2027.

Jiostar’s financial stress became evident in its 2024–25 audited accounts, where the company nearly doubled its provisions for expected losses on sports contracts from ₹12,319 crore in the previous year to ₹25,760 crore. These provisions reflect the strain from long-term sports and content rights that are generating far less revenue than projected.

Before merging with Viacom18, Star India had also reported a net loss of ₹12,548 crore for FY24, mainly due to a ₹12,319-crore provision tied to an expensive ICC rights deal.

Despite the broadcaster-side turmoil, the ICC posted a surplus of $474 million in 2024, highlighting cricket’s strong economics even as Jiostar absorbs massive losses.

The financial pressure on Jiostar deepened after the government’s ban on real-money gaming – once the biggest advertising category in Indian sports. The exit of platforms like Dream11 and My11Circle removed roughly ₹7,000 crore (about $840 million) in expected ad revenue, worsening the broadcaster’s already strained position.