JioStar Pulls Out From T20 World Cup 2026 As ICC Lands in Massive Trouble

In a major development ahead of the T20 World Cup 2026, the International Cricket Council is dealing with a major setback on the commercial front, as JioStar, the broadcasting venture created after the merger of Star India and Viacom18, has moved to withdraw from its India media-rights agreement just months.

The company has communicated to the ICC that it can no longer sustain the $3-billion rights contract, which was supposed to run through 2027, due to financial loss. The T20 World Cup will comprise of the best cricket teams in the world and is expected to be a huge spectacle. The T20 World Cup broadcast channel in India is Star Sports while JioHotstar was expected to telecast it online. However, they won't be broadcasting the tournament this time around.

JioStar Pulls Out of Media Rights Deal Ahead of ICC T20 World Cup 2026

JioHotstar T20 World Cup absence comes as a massive shock for the Indian cricket fans. The International Cricket Council (ICC) has been pushed into a challenging position only weeks before the 2026 T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka, after JioStar, the Reliance Industries–backed broadcasting entity, notified the board of its decision to pull out of the existing media-rights agreement for ICC events.

JioStar’s latest 2024–25 financial audit reveals the extent of the problem: the firm is hit with a ₹25,760 crore loss tied to expensive sports contracts, a substantial rise from ₹12,319 crore the previous year. A significant portion of this burden comes from its ICC rights deal. The sudden withdrawal has compelled the ICC to start a fresh bidding cycle for the 2026–29 India media rights, with an estimated target of around $2.4 billion.

As per reports, the ICC wanted to pursue early interest from potential buyers, including Sony Pictures Networks India, Amazon Prime Video and Netflix, but has been unsuccessful, primarily because of concerns over the pricing and the market’s current financial condition. If ICC fails to find a new broadcaster, JioStar will be forced to fulfil the remaining contract until 2027.

T20 World Cup 2026 Broadcast Rights in india

The T20 World Cup will comprise of the best cricketers in the world and India currently provides almost 80% of the ICC’s total income, which makes the media rights agreement extremely important for the organisation. One major problem has been a sharp fall of nearly ₹7,000 crore in advertising from real-money gaming companies, which used to be cricket’s biggest category of sponsors. JioStar T20 World Cup absence is a shock for the ICC.

Traditional brands have started to return, but their spending has not been large enough to make up for the shortfall. On top of this, the rise of the US dollar above ₹90 has pushed up JioStar’s overall liability to around $3.3 billion, since the payment terms are linked to the dollar. The situation became even tougher when Zee Entertainment pulled out of its ₹1,500 crore deal for ICC television rights.

This forced JioStar to take Zee to arbitration in London, demanding close to $1 billion in damages. The ICC is still in a good financial shape; it reported a $474 million surplus in 2024, but its heavy dependence on the Indian market means finding a stable broadcaster is vital.

Meanwhile, platforms like Amazon Prime Video and Netflix have shown little interest because of the high costs and their preference for investing in different types of content. Sony Pictures Networks India is also hesitant, as it already holds broadcast rights worth about $470 million across other cricket boards.