JioStar has withdrawn from its $3 billion media rights deal (2024-27) with the International Cricket Council (ICC) due to heavy losses, putting events like the T20 World Cup at risk and forcing the ICC to urgently find a new broadcaster in India.
In what is seen as a major setback for the global cricket rights market, JioStar has reportedly decided to withdraw from its $3 billion media deal with the International Cricket Council (ICC) ahead of next year’s T20 World Cup, scheduled to take place in February and March.
The Reliance-owned JioStar has signed a four-year media rights deal worth $3 billion with the ICC, covering the period from 2024 to 2027. The platform has been given the right to live stream and telecast all ICC men’s and women’s events during the 2024–2027 cycle. The major ICC tournaments, including ODI World Cups, T20 World Cups, Champions Trophy, and the World Test Championship finals, were all part of the package secured under the agreement.
The JioHotstar was earlier known as the Disney+Hotstar before it was rebranded to the current name following a merger between Reliance-owned Viacom18 and Walt Disney Company’s India business in November last year, following which it became the primary streaming platform for cricket content under Reliance’s ownership.
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A Big Jolt for ICC
JioStar’s decision to withdraw from the contract is a major blow for the International Cricket Council, given that the T20 World Cup is just two months away and the rights deal was a key part of the ICC’s revenue and global broadcasting strategy.
JioHotstar has been streaming ICC events since 2022, originally as Disney+Hotstar, which held digital ICC-event rights from 2024 when Disney won the deal, and after the 2025 merger, this continued under the new name JioHotstar. Over the past three years, JioHotstar, evolving from the Disney+Hotstar merger, has built itself into a go-to digital home for global ICC events in India.
Earlier this month (December), the International Cricket Council was hit with a significant broadcasting crisis after Jiostar, owner of JioHotstar, formally notified the world governing body of cricket that they cannot continue with the remaining two years of their $3 billion deal, which was supposed to conclude in 2027.
The big setback for the International Cricket Council came at a time when there are just a few months left before the T20 World Cup 2026 commences, and with no confirmed broadcasters in India, putting the livestreaming and broadcast of one of cricket’s biggest events in serious jeopardy.
Why did JioStar Choose to exit the Deal?
JioStar has been one of the leading OTT platforms, alongside SonyLiv, which streams and telecasts sports content. Now, the Reliance-owned OTT platform is on the verge of losing one of its biggest sports-content rights, as the costly $3 billion ICC media deal has become financially unsustainable. According to the report by the Economic Times, JioStar decided to withdraw from the four-year media rights deal with the ICC due to significant financial losses.
According to industry sources, the ban on real-money gaming in India by the Indian Government eliminated a major chunk of sports–advertising spending, estimated to be around INR 7,000 crore, which had been a key revenue stream for sports broadcasters such as JioStar. The soaring content-rights costs and growing losses have significantly impacted platforms like JioHotstar, making it increasingly difficult to justify continuing with a $3 billion media rights deal with the ICC.
In the Financial Year 2024-25, JioStar’s standalone accounts show that provisions for the expected losses on the heavy and lucrative sports contracts were raised to ₹ 25,760 crore. This is a significant increase from INR 12,319 crore in the previous financial year, representing a rise of approximately 109 %.
Therefore, the increase in provisions highlights the mounting financial pressure on JioStar, prompting the platform JioHotstar to withdraw from its $3 billion media rights contract with the ICC, as continuing the deal would have been financially unsustainable.
What Next for the ICC?
With JioStar set to exit its $3 billion media rights deal, the pressure is on the International Cricket Council (ICC) to find a new broadcaster in India to ensure seamless coverage of the marquee events, including the upcoming edition of the T20 World Cup, which will be co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka.
According to the report by the Economic Times, the ICC has already begun a fresh tender process for India's media rights and has approached major platforms like Sony Sports Network, Netflix and Amazon Prime Video, to take over the rights for 2026-29. The new deal is valued at approximately $2.4 billion, which is slightly lower than the previous $3 billion agreement, reflecting the current market conditions and the financial pressures faced by broadcasters in India.
The world governing body of cricket is reportedly looking at a stable and financially secure broadcaster that can ensure uninterrupted coverage of all ICC events in India for a four-year cycle. With the T20 World Cup 2026 is just a few months away, the ICC will look to bring a new broadcaster on board as quickly as possible to guarantee seamless live coverage and protect its revenue streams.
