The soaring cost of FIFA World Cup broadcast rights is becoming a growing concern globally, with Bangladesh now potentially facing the same challenge seen in countries like India and China.
A Singapore-based firm’s high broadcast rights demand has put Bangladesh’s World Cup telecast in uncertainty, as costs threaten to strain BTV’s budget and limit coverage.
A senior BTV official, who requested anonymity, told Dhaka Tribune: “Springbok has sent us a proposal worth Tk151 crore. Including tax and VAT, the amount will stand at around Tk200 crore.”
The official said it would be very difficult for BTV to pay such a high amount.
He said: “BTV can't buy the World Cup broadcast rights for so much money. BTV’s annual budget is Tk3 crore. If we spend Tk2 crore only on broadcast rights, how will the station run?
“Most importantly, BTV will not be able to make a profit after buying the rights at such a high price. It will face a major loss,” he added.
BTV bought the broadcast rights for the 2022 Qatar World Cup for Tk98 crore. But the state television channel later suffered a big financial loss from that deal.
The official said: “BTV had to face a big loss after buying the broadcast rights for the Qatar World Cup. We earned some money from advertisements, but we could not recover the full investment.
“The loss was big. Now, if the government decides to show the World Cup on BTV, then it may be possible. Otherwise, there is no other option at the moment.”
If the World Cup is not broadcast in Bangladesh, many football fans in the country may miss the tournament on television.
FIFA recently told Reuters that it had completed broadcast deals in more than 175 territories.
But the real picture is more complicated. Broadcast deals have still not been finalised in important markets such as Pakistan, Bangladesh, Thailand and Myanmar.
India and China, two of the world’s most populous countries, are also not yet on FIFA’s confirmed broadcast list. This means nearly 40% of the world’s population is still outside the current broadcast coverage.
Analysts say one major problem is the time difference.
India is nine and a half hours ahead of the United States, while China is 12 hours ahead. As the 2026 World Cup will be held in the United States, Canada and Mexico, many matches will be shown in Asia late at night or early in the morning.
The situation was different during the 2022 Qatar World Cup. The time difference was much better for Asian viewers. India was only two and a half hours ahead of Qatar, while China was five hours ahead.
That is why India’s Viacom18 bought the broadcast rights for $60m and streamed the matches free on JioCinema. The platform got a large number of viewers.
But advertising income was much lower than expected. It earned around $30m from advertisements, which was not enough to cover the cost. As a result, the company suffered a loss.
In India, media companies depend more on advertisements than subscriptions. Because of this, showing matches for free did not become a successful business model.
After that experience, FIFA reportedly asked for around $100m for the Indian market for the 2026 and 2030 World Cups together.
But reports say JioStar and Sony were not interested at that price. Instead, JioStar offered only $20m.
Analysts say the time difference is not the only reason. Cricket is also a big factor in India. Huge amounts of money are already being spent on the IPL.
The women’s T20 World Cup will also take place around the same period. So viewers and advertisers may give more attention to cricket than football.
China is also facing a similar situation. State broadcaster CCTV has long been the main World Cup broadcaster in the country.
But FIFA has not received the amount it expected from the Chinese market.
FIFA first asked for $250 million, but Chinese broadcasters showed much less interest. The offer later reportedly came down to $80 million.
