New Delhi: Prasar Bharati on Wednesday opposed before the Delhi High Court a petition seeking direction for the broadcast of the FIFA World Cup 2026 in India through the public broadcaster, contending that discussions between the world governing body FIFA and broadcasters were still on and that it was under no obligation to acquire telecast rights for such sporting events.
The World Cup is scheduled to be jointly hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico from June 11 to July 19. The 48-team tournament will have 104 matches played across 16 cities.
Prasar Bharati’s lawyer submitted before a bench of Justice Purushaindra Kaurav that judicial intervention at this stage, in the petition filed by advocate Avdhesh Bairwa, was unwarranted.
Its submissions were, however, countered by Bairwa’s lawyer, Vaibhav Gaggar, who said that such a stance defeated the very legislative intent behind the Sports Broadcasting Signals (mandatory sharing with Prasar Bharati) Act, 2007. It was enacted precisely to ensure that sporting events of national importance are made accessible
to the public across the country through mandatory broadcasting mechanisms, he submitted.
However, Gaggar withdrew the petition after Justice Kaurav suggested that Bairwa could pursue any other legal action available. The court dismissed the petition as withdrawn.
In his petition, Bairwa sought direction for the interim telecast of eight matches—the opening game, quarter-finals, semi-finals and the final—on free-to-air platforms. He contended that historically the FIFA World Cup has had a commercial broadcaster in India, but currently no broadcaster has secured the Indian media rights for the event.
He further argued that India is among FIFA’s largest viewership markets, citing 745.7 million interactions during the 2022 World Cup, urging the court to direct the authorities to secure broadcast rights for all 104 matches of the tournament.
The petition further stated that the matter is of utmost urgency as the World Cup is set to commence on June 11 and the opening match itself has been recognised as an event of national importance. It argued that without timely judicial intervention by the court, the petitioner and millions of Indian citizens would be irreparably deprived of their fundamental rights with no adequate alternative remedy available.
