India Broadcast Deal Close: Prabhakaran Says Negotiations Complete, Official Announcement Expected Next Week
Former AIFF General Secretary Shaji Prabhakaran has said negotiations for the FIFA World Cup 2026 broadcast rights in India are complete and an official announcement is expected next week. The intervention comes weeks after the Delhi High Court issued notice to the Centre and Prasar Bharati on a petition seeking guaranteed access via Doordarshan and DD Sports.
I ndia's FIFA World Cup 2026 broadcast rights deal is close. Former All India Football Federation (AIFF) General Secretary Shaji Prabhakaran said on Saturday that negotiations are complete and an official announcement is expected next week. The intervention lands less than three weeks before the tournament's June 11 opener at Estadio Azteca and gives Indian football fans the first concrete signal that the country's biggest sports audience will not be without coverage.
"Negotiations are complete"
Writing on X, Prabhakaran said: "BIG NEWS FOR INDIAN FOOTBALL FANS! The wait is finally over. Negotiations are complete, and the official announcement for the FIFA World Cup 2026 broadcasting partner in India is expected next week. After months of uncertainty, fans can finally relax, the World Cup will be fully accessible in India. Get ready for the biggest World Cup in history!" Prabhakaran did not name the incoming partner, but his framing puts the deal on the cusp of formal sign-off.
How it got to this point
India arrived at this point in a worse position than any World Cup cycle of the last 20 years. JioStar walked away from a Prasar Bharati sub-licensing arrangement in early May after a 20-million USD rejection. The Delhi High Court then stepped in. Justice Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav issued notice to the Centre and Prasar Bharati on a writ petition filed under Article 226 of the Constitution by advocate Avdhesh Bairwa, arguing that no broadcaster in India had acquired the rights despite the tournament being scheduled to run June 11 to July 19, 2026.
The pricing collapse
The petition laid out the scale of the rights-fee collapse. FIFA originally valued the India package for the 2026 and 2030 World Cups at around 100 million USD. After a lack of interest from broadcasters, that number was cut to roughly 35 million USD. Even at the lower figure no final agreement had been reached by mid-May, prompting the court action.
Mandatory sharing arrangement
The petition also leaned on existing law. The FIFA World Cup is already notified as a "sporting event of national importance" under the Sports Broadcasting Signals (Mandatory Sharing with Prasar Bharati) Act, 2007. Once such a notification is in place, the government and Prasar Bharati are obliged to ensure the event is made available to the public, which has been the backbone of Doordarshan-led free-to-air coverage of previous World Cups.
What still needs confirming
Prabhakaran's post is a former-official signal, not a federation or broadcaster confirmation. The deal he describes still needs the signed agreement and a public name. Indian football fans should hold the celebration until the partner is announced, but the path from total uncertainty three weeks ago to "announcement next week" is a real shift.
Reporting: The New Indian Express, May 23, 2026.