{"id":914527,"date":"2026-06-21T18:14:01","date_gmt":"2026-06-21T23:14:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/21\/indian-court-takes-up-world-cup-broadcast-case\/"},"modified":"2026-06-21T18:14:01","modified_gmt":"2026-06-21T23:14:01","slug":"indian-court-takes-up-world-cup-broadcast-case","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/21\/indian-court-takes-up-world-cup-broadcast-case\/","title":{"rendered":"Indian court takes up World Cup broadcast case"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Judges accept petition arguing that watching football is a \u2018fundamental right\u2019<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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PUBLISHED : 13 May 2026 at 16:51<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"SoFi\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/picture>

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSoFi Stadium, in the Inglewood area of Los Angeles, will host eight World Cup matches. (Photo: Reuters)\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

NEW DELHI – A standoff over World Cup broadcasting rights in India has ended up in the courts, with fans fearing they won\u2019t be able to watch football\u2019s biggest party when it begins in under a month.<\/p>\n

The Delhi High Court on Tuesday issued a notice to the Indian government and the public broadcaster Prasar Bharti to respond to a petition filed by a lawyer pleading for live coverage.<\/p>\n

Fifa, the world governing body for the sport, had sought about $100 million from Indian broadcasters wanting to show the 2026 and 2030 World Cups, but so far the best offer \u2014 only $20 million \u2014 has come from JioStar, according to local reports.<\/p>\n

Thailand and China are also yet to strike a deal to show the finals when they kick off on June 11, leaving swathes of Asia potentially facing a blackout.<\/p>\n

The Thai cabinet this week authorised two state agencies<\/a> to pursue the broadcast rights, without specifying whether taxpayers or sponsors will end up footing the estimated 1.3-billion-baht bill.<\/p>\n

The petition filed to the Delhi court argued that the absence of a broadcast arrangement deprived Indian citizens of their \u201cfundamental right to receive information\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cIndia stands as one of the few major markets without a broadcaster,\u201d it said, noting that no viewing deal had been sealed despite the World Cup being designated a \u201csporting event of national importance\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cWithout timely judicial intervention\u2026 the petitioner and millions of Indian citizens will be irreparably deprived of their fundamental rights with no adequate alternative remedy,\u201d says the petition, seen by AFP.<\/p>\n

The next hearing is scheduled for May 20.<\/p>\n

The World Cup is being co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico.<\/p>\n

Broadcasters in Asia have been cautious about bidding for rights, citing concerns that late-night kickoff times in the region could dent viewership and advertising revenues.<\/p>\n

India, the world\u2019s most populous nation with 1.4 billion people, are not playing at the World Cup.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Judges accept petition arguing that watching football is a \u2018fundamental right\u2019 PUBLISHED : 13 May 2026 at 16:51 SoFi Stadium, in the Inglewood area of Los Angeles, will host eight World Cup matches. (Photo: Reuters) NEW DELHI – A standoff over World Cup broadcasting rights in India has ended up in the courts, with fans<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":914528,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2047,24960],"tags":[5047,6494],"class_list":["post-914527","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-court","category-indian","tag-court","tag-indian"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/914527","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=914527"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/914527\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/914528"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=914527"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=914527"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=914527"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}