JioStar wants to exit USD 3 bn ICC media rights deal ahead of T20 WC: Report
The ICC has started a fresh process for media rights in India for the 2026-2029 cycle for around USD 2.4 billion
Ahead of next year’s ICC T20 World Cup 2026 in India and Sri Lanka, the International Cricket Council (ICC) is facing a huge setback as broadcaster JioStar has informed the world governing body that it wants to exit the three-year media deal over mounting financial losses.
According to a report in Economic Times on Monday (December 8), JioStar, owned by Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries, has told ICC that it won’t be able to fulfil the rest of the USD 3 billion media contract, which ends in 2027.
ICC approaches new broadcasters
The ICC has now approached other broadcasters, including Sony Pictures Networks India (SPNI), Netflix, and Amazon Prime Video, the report said.
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JioStar had acquired media rights in India from the ICC for the 2024-2027 cycle for USD 3 billion. However, according to the broadcaster, it suffered huge losses from the ICC T20 World Cup 2024 and ICC Champions Trophy 2025.
As per reports, JioStar’s deals related to sports content saw losses shoot up from Rs 12,319 crore to Rs 25,760 crore in a single financial year.
As per the report, the ICC has started a fresh process for media rights in India for the 2026-2029 cycle for around USD 2.4 billion.
Viewership record on JioHotstar
Last month, ICC said that the Women’s Cricket World Cup 2025 Final, which India won in Mumbai by beating South Africa, set a new benchmark in viewership figures on JioHotstar.
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JioHotstar revealed that the summit clash attracted a staggering 185 million users to the app, equalling the viewership of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2024 Final.
Additionally, another 92 million tuned in to watch the historic clash on Connected TV (CTV), equalling the CTV viewership figures from the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 Final and the Men’s Cricket World Cup Final from 2023.
India captain Harmanpreet Kaur’s final-winning catch drew a peak concurrency of 21 million viewers.