FIFA World Cup broadcasting rights till 2010 World Cup was held by Star Sports Network, which was valued at $12 million. In 2012, Sony Sports Network got the rights for the next two World Cups, 2014 in Brazil and 2018 in Russia for $80 million.
However, for the upcoming FIFA World Cup Qatar 22, Sony and Star Sports have been beaten by the new entrant in this sports broadcasting industry. Reliance backed Viacom 18 has won the broadcasting right for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 for a whopping Rs 450 crores, which roughly translates to $60 million.
Viacom18 is a joint venture between American entertainment conglomerate ViacomCBS and Mukesh Ambani’s Network18. They have hired former Star Sports EVP Ad Sales Anil Jayaraj as CEO of Sports Business, who has been instrumental in their latest broadcasting acquisitions.
Viacom 18 now holds the broadcasting rights of the Spanish football league La Liga, Italian football league Serie A, French football league Ligue 1, Abu Dhabi T10 league and have now acquired the right for the upcoming FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022.
The matches are broadcasted live on MTV channels and live-streamed on VOOT Select.
The FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 will be held in the winter of 2022. It will start on 21st November 2022 and the final will be on 18th December 2022. The time difference between Qatar and India are not quite huge so it is expected that Viacom18 will gain maximum viewership from the biggest football tournament on Earth.
