FIFA World Cup Live Broadcast in India Still Uncertain as No Bidders Step Forward Amid Midnight Match Concerns

The uncertainty surrounding the live telecast of the upcoming FIFA World Cup matches (to be held in North America) in India remains unresolved. While FIFA has already secured broadcasting agreements with various satellite channels across different parts of the world, significantly, no Indian company has stepped forward to purchase the broadcasting rights so far.
The primary reason behind this is the time difference: because the matches are scheduled to take place at midnight according to Indian Standard Time (IST), both domestic and international television channels operating in India have shown little interest in broadcasting them live. Naturally, this predicament has left the FIFA authorities in a tight spot.
In an attempt to attract Indian companies, FIFA even reduced the initial bidding price it had set for the broadcasting rights. However, even after this price cut, no company has come forward yet.
A similar situation had occurred in neighboring China as well, but recently, a channel under the Chinese government signed an agreement with FIFA. Consequently, the live broadcast of the World Cup matches in China has now been secured through that channel.
In sharp contrast, no solution has been found in India so far. To address this issue, a delegation from FIFA will arrive in India next week. According to available reports, although preliminary talks have commenced with India’s Reliance-Disney, no formal memorandum of understanding or agreement has been reached between the two parties yet.