The International Cricket Council (ICC) has got a big crisis with the broadcast after JioStar officially informed the regulatory body that it would not be able to bear the remaining two years of the India media-rights agreement. The broadcaster’s move has already been reported in The Economic Times and is grounded on the tremendous financial losses that they have suffered under the current four-year-long contract, which has therefore forced an early and unexpected departure.
JioStar’s withdrawal has not only affected the rights cycle of 2024–27 but has also raised doubts about the telecast and streaming of the forthcoming ICC tournaments.
To tackle the situation ICC has floated a new tender for the 2026–29 rights window and is said to be looking for nearly US$2.4 billion. The world body has been in touch with the major players like Sony Pictures Networks India, Netflix, and Amazon Prime Video, but none has made a commitment yet, mainly because of the fear of the high valuation, as per a report by Cricket.com
It certainly shows JioStar’s increasing financial pressure when it announces that it is going to increase the amount it has set aside for expected losses on sports contracts this year by more than two times.
