Millions of football fans in the world’s two most populous nations may not be able to watch the World Cup, which starts next month, because of a deadlock over broadcast rights in India and no official decision in China.

In India, a Reliance-Disney joint venture has offered US$20 million for 2026 World Cup broadcast rights, a fraction of Fifa’s ask, which was not acceptable to football’s global governing body, two sources said on Monday. Sony ‌held talks but also decided not to make an offer for Fifa rights for India, a third source with direct knowledge said.

There has also been no deal announcement for China, which Fifa says accounted for 49.8 per cent of all hours of viewing on digital and social platforms globally during the 2022 World Cup.

Fifa did not respond to a request for comment. Reliance-Disney, a joint venture led by billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance, did not respond to requests for comment, and neither did Sony.

The lack of a confirmed broadcast agreement with India or China is unusual at this stage.

In past World Cups, including 2018 and 2022, Chinese state broadcaster CCTV secured the ⁠rights well in advance and began airing promotional content and sponsor-driven advertisements weeks before the tournament.