The FIFA World Cup 2026 kicks off on June 11. India, one of football's largest engagement markets, currently has no broadcaster for it. No deal has been signed. No rights have been acquired. And with less than a month to go, the Delhi High Court has stepped in.

Justice Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav issued notice to the Central Government and Prasar Bharati on Tuesday while hearing a writ petition filed by advocate Avdhesh Bairwa under Article 226 of the Constitution. The petition seeks court directions to ensure that the tournament, running through July 19, is broadcast in India, specifically through free-to-air public platforms such as Doordarshan and DD Sports.

How it came to this

The situation with broadcasting rights has been deteriorating for months. FIFA had initially valued the India rights package for the 2026 and 2030 World Cups at around USD 100 million. When that figure attracted no serious interest from Indian broadcasters, it was reduced significantly to approximately USD 35 million. Even at that reduced valuation, the petition states, no final agreement has been reached.

The result is a scenario where one of the world's most-watched sporting events could go entirely unbroadcast in a country that FIFA's own data identifies as among the top global engagement markets during the 2022 World Cup.

The legal argument

The petition rests on a specific statutory foundation. The FIFA World Cup has already been notified as a "sporting event of national importance" under the Sports Broadcasting Signals (Mandatory Sharing with Prasar Bharati) Act, 2007. The petitioner argues that once such a notification is in place, both the government and Prasar Bharati carry a legal obligation to ensure public access to the event.

The plea further contends that Prasar Bharati has the infrastructure to fulfil that obligation, through DD Sports, DD Free Dish, and its WAVES OTT platform, and that the failure to broadcast the tournament would amount to a violation of citizens' constitutional rights under Articles 14, 19(1)(a) and 21, including the right to receive information through public broadcasting.

Senior Advocate Vaibhav Gaggar appeared for the petitioner, alongside a team of advocates including Ankit Konwar, Avdhesh Bairwa, Subhashni Kumari, Prateek Singh, and others.

The court has issued notice to the respondents, and the matter is expected to be heard further in the coming days, with the tournament now just weeks away.

Published on: May 13, 2026 3:27 PM IST