In 2024, the International Cricket Council (ICC) posted a $474-million surplus, underscoring cricket’s strong economics. But the very same game proved costly for JioStar which absorbed steep losses during the same period.
Star India, before its merger with Viacom18, reported a standalone net loss of Rs 12,548 crore for the year ended March 31, 2024, driven largely by a Rs 12,319-crore provision for an onerous contract linked to its ICC media-rights deal, according to a regulatory filing.
The same story of surplus for the Council and losses for JioStar seems set to be repeated in 2026 also as the latter has expressed unwillingness to service the remaining two years of its four-year India media rights deal for ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, going to be played in the country next year, because of deep financial losses.
According to a report in The Economic Times, the Council is now faced with a major challenge. It has begun a fresh sale process for India media rights for 2026-29 and is seeking about $2.4 billion. For the 2024–27 cycle it had valued media rights at $3 billion, with one major men’s event scheduled each year.
With JioStar signalling it would withdraw from a deal that contractually runs through 2027, the ICC has approached Sony Pictures Networks India (SPNI), Netflix and Amazon Prime Video to take over the rights.
So far, none of the platforms has shown substantive interest because of pricing concerns, leaving the ICC without a clear path forward: that of forcing JioStar to fulfil its obligation till 2027.
Email queries to the ICC, SPNI, Netflix and Amazon Prime Video remained unanswered until the publication of this report by the ET, while JioStar declined to comment.
JioStar more than doubled its provisions for expected losses on onerous sports contracts in 2024-25 to Rs 25,760 crore, up from Rs 12,319 crore a year earlier.
The rise, disclosed in the company’s audited standalone financials, reflects pressure from long-term sports and content rights that are expected to generate less than their execution costs.
Financial nerve centre
India accounts for nearly 80 per cent of ICC revenue, highlighting both its dominance and the sport’s dependence on a single market.
Industry trackers said the asking price remains steep even for established players such as SPNI. It has maintained a conservative approach to cricket despite holding sizable international rights, including the Asian Cricket Council at $170 million, New Zealand Cricket at $100 million and the England and Wales Cricket at $100 million and the England and Wales Cricket Board at more than $200 million.
Such is the pressure on India’s sports media landscape that SPNI earlier this year sub-licensed the India–England bilateral series’ digital rights to JioStar to reduce its financial risk.
JioStar’s strain has intensified after the ban on real-money gaming, which had become the single largest advertiser for cricket.
Industry executives said that although traditional brands have returned, no segment can fill the roughly $840 million (Rs 7,000 crore) gap left by real-money gaming and fantasy platforms like Dream11 and My11Circle.
Netflix has stayed away from cricket in India, focusing instead on premium entertainment programming and is in the early stages of testing sports-entertainment properties such as WWE, which it inherited as part of a $5-billion global deal.
Prime Video’s involvement with cricket also remains limited. Its New Zealand Cricket partnership for India ends early next year and it holds ICC rights in Australia until 2027.
Globally, streaming platforms are investing more in live sports to counter slowing subscription growth.
Business case
But with rights costs rising sharply, especially for leagues such as the NBA, NFL and MLB, they remain selective, favouring properties that offer a clearer returns visibility rather than bidding broadly for every marquee package.
Even if the ICC is ultimately unable to find a new broadcaster, JioStar will remain obligated to fulfil the contract until 2027.
However, the current sales process for fresh media rights underscores the correction underway in the sports media landscape. The International Olympic Committee and FIFA, too, are finding it difficult to command the valuations they expect in India.
Executives said several factors are making potential bidders cautious. Monetisation of bilateral and multilateral cricket remains limited amid subdued advertising demand and continued pressure on linear TV profitability from a shrinking pay base and weak ad volumes and pricing.
With linear profits under strain and streaming still loss-making, broadcasters are reluctant to take on large sports commitments in the future.
At the same time, the merger of Star India and Viacom18 into JioStar has created a virtual duopoly in sports broadcasting, leaving only JioStar and SPNI as serious contenders and narrowing options for rights holders such as the ICC.
That said, cricket continues to function as one of the few proven mass-scale audience drivers in India, making it a strategic asset that broadcasters and streamers are reluctant to forgo despite escalating costs.
JioStar inherited the $3 billion ICC India rights from Disney’s Star India, which later merged with Viacom18. Together, Star and Viacom18 had committed more than $10 billion to cricket, making India the world’s most expensive market for the sport.
From the outset, several senior executives regarded the $3 billion ICC rights valuation as anomalous and materially disconnected from prevailing market benchmarks. SPNI had bid about $1.4 billion for the combined TV and digital rights, while Viacom18 was understood to have bid around $1 billion. For the previous eight-year cycle ending 2023, Star had paid close to $2 billion.
JioStar’s burden increased further after Zee Entertainment backed out of its commitment to take the ICC TV rights for roughly $1.5 billion when the proposed Zee SPNI merger collapsed.
This prompted JioStar to initiate arbitration against Zee at the London International Arbitration Centre, with damages claimed at close to $1 billion, according to regulatory filings.
Rising dollar rates and rupee depreciation have added to the pressure because ICC payments are dollar denominated. Executives said JioStar’s effective burden has already risen to about $3.3 billion as the dollar has crossed Rs 90.
Global gaming rights
Ampere Analysis: Global Sports Rights Spending Forecast provides a robust forecast, projecting significant growth in worldwide spending on sports media rights over the next five years.
The key takeaway is that live sports remain one of the most reliable and highly-valued drivers of audience reach and subscriber retention in the fragmented media landscape.
Global growth to exceed $78 billion
The report forecasts that global spend on sports media rights will increase by 20 per cent between 2025 and 2030, exceeding a total of $78 billion by the end of the decade.
This growth is primarily fuelled by two major factors: colossal rights renewals for major US sports properties and intense, growing competition from global streaming platforms for premium live sports content across all regions.
The United States dominates
The US market is, by far, the most dominant and the primary driver of the global surge in spending. It is projected to account for nearly half of the global total, with its sports rights spend expected to surpass $36 billion by 2030. This significant rise is anchored by new rights cycles for major leagues. Specifically, the new NBA rights cycle, commencing in the 2025–26 season, and new Major League Baseball (MLB) deals from 2029 are key contributors.
Europe: The streamer effect
Europe is set for more modest but still significant growth, rising by 17 per cent from $18.3 billion in 2025 to $21.3 billion in 2030. Unlike the US, certain major European sports properties have faced downward pressure in recent rights auctions. However, the overall growth is expected to be buoyed by the increasing involvement and competitive bidding from global streaming platforms.
The growing appeal of live sport to global streamers is anticipated to reignite market competition. For example, the UEFA Champions League tender saw significant commitment from players like Paramount, which secured key rights in markets like the UK and Germany, while Amazon Prime Video renewed its packages in several European markets.
Asia: Cricket as a key driver
The Asian market is projected to see significant percentage growth, primarily led by the escalating value of cricket rights.
Media rights spending in Asia is forecast to climb from $7.2 billion in 2025 to $9.9 billion by 2030.
Indian cricket boom: Indian cricket is the central growth engine. New packages for the Indian Premier League (IPL) and International Cricket Council (ICC) tournaments, including future T20 World Cups, are expected to command substantially higher fees from 2027 onwards, driving nearly all of the regional growth.