EXPLAINER: If you’ve been following the noise around JioStar telling the ICC it “can’t service” two more years of its media-rights deal, don’t mistake it for a walkout. This isn’t a breakup. It’s two partners who don’t really work together but also can’t survive without each other. That’s the uncomfortable truth running through global cricket right now, there’s only one major buyer, and only one major seller that matters. Neither has a Plan B.
Let’s break down why this has become unsustainable.
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The prices simply don’t add up
When Disney India snapped up ICC rights in 2023 for $3.04 billion, it was paying roughly Rs 138.7 crore per match across 179 games.
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To put that in perspective, an IPL match today costs broadcasters around Rs 114 crore, It airs in perfect India prime time, It features top-tier global and Indian stars, and it’s one of the most premium sports products in the world.
So how do you justify paying even more per match for ICC events where India plays just 28 out of 179 games? You don’t. The math doesn’t work.
Disney certainly knew this, which is why it effectively exited the India market at a discount when Jio took over. Jio knew it, too that’s why they’re now pushing the ICC to renegotiate.
Cricket has put all its eggs in one basket
The reality is, If JioStar steps away from cricket rights tomorrow, the ICC, BCCI, and IPL have nowhere else to go. There’s no deep pool of bidders anymore. The market has shrunk, and consolidation has killed competition.
For ICC rights, JioStar is effectively the only serious bidder
For IPL rights in 2026-27, the potential field is likely just JioStar and Sony (and only Sony for TV). That’s not a marketplace, it’s a forced marriage.
Because of that, if JioStar says, “We need a discount" the cricket boards don’t negotiate from strength, they negotiate because they have no alternative. With major events coming in 2026 (T20 WC) and 2027 (ODI WC), the ICC may be forced to sit at the table and offer friendlier pricing just to keep the wheels turning.
The ‘Domino Effect’ has already hit the IPL
This tension hasn’t gone unnoticed. IPL franchises, always hypersensitive to media-rights money, have been bracing for this since the Jio–Disney merger.
Brand Finance recently pegged the IPL’s 2025 brand value down 20%, from $12B to $9.6B. That’s not because cricket got worse it’s because the broadcast ecosystem got shakier.
Remember how wild the bidding was in 2022?
Rights sold for Rs 48,390 crore across TV and digital. Multiple players fought tooth and nail and prices skyrocketed.
In 2026-27, all that competitive heat disappears. Only 'two bidders' will likely show up, and one of them only wants TV. Industry insiders are whispering about a modest 5-10% hike, which is basically stagnation for a property that ballooned from $1B to $6.5B in just 14 years.
What Happens Next?
Unless new players enter the market (unlikely), or the global ad-spend economy suddenly booms (even more unlikely), cricket’s rights ecosystem is going to flatten out. ICC and IPL will remain premium products but not at the hyper-inflated rates broadcasters paid in the last cycle.
The “endgame” as the piece suggests, is fairly straightforward: ICC renegotiates prices downward with JioStar
- JioStar continues as the dominant broadcaster, because it needs cricket to drive subscriptions.
- Cricket boards accept lower growth or even a reset because they have no other buyer.
- It’s not glamorous, but it’s the reality. Cricket isn’t collapsing but the era of runaway broadcast valuations might be.
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