ICC in panic mode as JioStar set to exit media-rights deal; Netflix, Amazon approached in desperation
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As per the latest reports, JioStar has served a formal notice to the ICC stating that they are looking to end their deal over media rights on cricket games owing to some financial challenges. The ICC has hence started to explore options for the sale of rights for the 2026-29 cycle.
The ICC should be focusing only on the upcoming events, as the coming year is set to see the ICC Men's T20 World Cup and the ICC Women's T20 World Cup as well. They will then be hosting the ICC ODI World Cup in 2027, but instead of focusing on this, they have landed in another fix.
Ahead of the T20 World Cup, which is only 2 months from now, the ICC has been threatened with losing its contract for streaming rights in India, and with the T20 World Cup hosted in India, this has emerged as a major area of concern.
ICC worried after JioStar conveyed the end of the mega deal
The ICC is in a very tricky situation, as Reliance Industries-owned JioStar, which secured the media rights of the ICC until 2027, has informed the International Cricket Council's governing body that it intends to end the deal for the tournaments ahead of the actual contract period.
The four-year contract, which was to serve till 2027, will be dissolved two years before its actual tenure ends, according to a report in The Economic Times. The report revealed that JioStar doubled its losses on sports contracts from INR 12,319 to INR 25,760 after the merger between Viacom18 and Hotstar.
However, the ICC, on the other hand, has recorded a surplus of $474 million, which implies that not the game of cricket but the platform is not bearing success.
ICC to find new streaming partner ahead of ICC T20 World Cup 2026
Following the formal notice served by JioStar, the ICC has restarted the sale of media rights in India for the 2026-29 cycle. They are in a hurry due to the ICC T20 World Cup scheduled to be held in the February window.
As per the report, the ICC is seeking a value of $2.4 billion for the contract, which is less by comparison than the ICC's 2024-27 rights, which would be estimated at around $3 billion with at least one men's tournament every year.
However, it has also been confirmed that if the ICC is not able to find a new media rights owner, then JioStar will have to serve till the end of the contract. It was reported that despite being the only major broadcaster in India, the ICC price tag seemed too high, especially after the Indian government imposed a ban on real-money gaming.
Netflix and Prime Video among options to be explored by the ICC
The report also mentions that the ICC has approached several big houses like Sony Pictures Networks India (SPNI), Netflix, and Amazon Prime Video; however, as of now, none have shown immense interest in acquiring the rights due to the ICC's high pricing.
Netflix has recently started exploring the sports entertainment section and currently only holds rights for WWE, but has been avoiding a game like cricket. Prime Video, on the other hand, only has a contract with the New Zealand Board and holds the rights for ICC's media rights in Australia till 2027.
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ICC JioStar Jay Shah ICC T20 World Cup Sri Lanka ICC Men's T20 World Cup BCCI India National Cricket TeamAbout the Author
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