Much has already been written about the difficulties faced in finding a suitable broadcasting partner for the FIFA World Cup in India. Finally, just a few days ago, ‘G”s 8-year contract with FIFA was announced. However, its price was less than the amount paid in 2022 and 2018. There are many reasons behind this, which need attention. Why did FIFA have so much trouble and why did the prices remain low? The first reason is that there are now 48 teams in the tournament. This means that many of the initial matches will not be that interesting for the Indian market. In fact, many of these teams are not even followed by Indian football fans. In such a situation, there is little possibility that the spectators will stay up all night to watch players whom they do not even know. With the matches taking place late at night, fewer brands would want to be associated with them. In such a situation, broadcasters are forced to keep the prices low for this product. The second reason is that the timing of the Football World Cup is clashing with the Women’s T20 World Cup to be held in England and the subsequent India-England T20 and 50-over white-ball matches. It is possible that Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli will be seen playing for the last time on English soil. In such a situation, it will be more interesting for the Indian audience to watch them. The match to be held at Lord’s on July 19 is clashing with the FIFA World Cup final, so it can be assumed that Indian fans will be more excited to watch cricket than football. If Wimbledon is also added to this, it is certain that the Football World Cup will have to face tough competition. Indian men’s cricket team has won the T20 World Cup at home, now the Indian audience is also deeply interested in the women’s T20 World Cup. Most of its matches will start at night according to Indian time, so their timing may also clash with FIFA matches. In such a situation, the Indian audience will be divided. The broadcast rights of the Women’s T20 World Cup are with Jio, while the rights of the white-ball series are with Sony. Meaning, both broadcasters have enough quality content to show and they did not feel the need to spend big money for FIFA. ‘G’ has used this opportunity to re-enter the sports market and it must be said that it is a wise move. The Indian market is big and FIFA too would not want to stay away from this biggest market of the Global South. It was necessary to keep the prices low, hence in the competitive environment of demand and supply, there was a bargaining battle till the end. The 2022 World Cup cannot be compared with this deal. There are two more reasons for this. First, a large number of Indians had reached Qatar at that time and the atmosphere was as if the World Cup was being held in India itself. Second, at that time all the stadiums were an hour away so it was possible to watch several matches in a day. The time difference was also such that Indian viewers could watch almost all the matches in prime time. All these factors should be kept in mind while comparing the current scenario. But the World Cup broadcast deal also reflects the state of football in India. Indian football is going through a very bad phase at the moment and we have had nothing worth talking about in the last two years. The All India Football Federation (AIFF) has been struggling for a long time to get the Indian Super League (ISL) back on track. Even today it is not clear what will happen next year. Broadcast partners have not yet struck a deal and many clubs are opposed to the proposed arrangement. Some time ago India’s ranking in football was at 99th place, but today we are below 140th. Although women’s football is showing improvement and the U-17 AFC Asian Cup performance was also excellent, Indian men’s football needs a new oxygen. Late night matches, format of 48 teams, excessive inclination towards cricket, bad condition of Indian football – these are all the reasons due to which the fans are not seeing the same enthusiasm for the 2022 FIFA World Cup this time. (These are the author’s own views)
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Boria Majumdar’s column: Why is there not the same enthusiasm for the World Cup this time?
