AIFF faces a difficult test to sell ISL broadcast rights: from Rs 275 crore to bare bones | football news

New Delhi: Last week, the All India Football Federation (AIFF) issued a Request for Proposal (RFP) tender to find a broadcast partner for the 2025-26

The season in question is the Indian Super League (ISL). It was the second time in six months that the AIFF had issued a document, as the first version,

published in October 2025, it demanded an annual minimum guarantee of Rs 37.5 crore. For various reasons, it found no takers. Since then Indian football has been in free fall.

AIFF’s contract with Football Sports Development Limited (FSDL), which launched the ISL in 2014, expires on December 8, 2025.

Between the AIFF constitutional changes, court visits, lack of commercial partners and the sports ministry’s latest intervention, the ISL has suffered a massive blow to its credibility.

if only to start on the 4th. Go beyond borders with our YouTube channel. Subscribe now! The ISL 2025-26 fixtures are now available.

The ISL 2025-26 fixtures, which have languished in the draft folder for days due to unstable home venues, present a formidable challenge for any prospective broadcaster. With 91 matches to be played in a single-leg home-and-away format in the upcoming truncated season,

This race against time is getting more complicated with each passing day.

The AIFF should formally appoint an agency to oversee the broadcast bid process. In 2021

, the BCCI brought in audit, tax and financial advisory consultancy KPMG to advise on the sale of IPL media rights. The objective was clear: earn ‘top dollar’.

This has taken IPL’s media rights to Rs 48,390.32 crore over five years – a 100 per cent jump in per-match value.

The AIFF, which has rarely demonstrated its mettle in the past few months, is alone in this regard. Before FSDL moved out,

ISL had a broadcast deal worth Rs 550 crore over two seasons with games shown on linear TV and OTT.

Initially, ISL matches were telecast on the Star Sports Network before moving to Viacom18-owned Sports18/JioCinema.

The Rs 275 crore a year deal is a 37.5 per cent increase over what Star India, which has a majority stake in the ISL, paid in the first 10 years of the competition.

The Rs 275 crore funds things like match production, league marketing, revenue for clubs and fixed payments to federations.

Despite this, FSDL posted a loss of Rs 14.34 crore in FY23, Rs 46.3 crore in FY22, Rs 13.7 crore in FY21 and Rs 27 crore in FY20.

The league only became profitable when operations were scaled back, posting a net profit of Rs 45.2 crore in FY24.

AIFF has no bargaining power

Now, in this post-FSDL era, the AIFF and, by extension, the ISL clubs have little room to negotiate with any potential bidder.

With the ISL set to play in multiple cities, it adds up to a budget of just Rs 9.77 crore for production and transmission.

In the past, it was around Rs 70 crore. This means the broadcast quality output will be lower. Instead of a multi-camera setup in different parts of the ground,

One can expect 3-4 cameras, similar to the I-League coverage, where the equipment is placed at a high vantage point, behind the goal and near the halfway line.

An ISL club official, who spoke to TimesofIndia.com on condition of anonymity, said hosting the league in multiple cities could deter potential bidders.

He reminded us that the options are limited anyway, as February-March is the period of the T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka, which will be broadcast by JioStar.

The logic is simple: higher viewership leads to increased sponsorship for clubs, and with a lower quality product, the Rs 5-6 crore share of revenue is likely to be successful.

All clubs are set for another year in the red on their balance sheets.

While many clubs have effectively cut costs and slashed player wages, their losses are expected to triple the normal amount due to a lack of commercial revenue.

Time to rebuild

Like other aspects of the ISL, including franchise fees and player salaries, the quality of broadcast rights also needs to be reworked for a healthy future.

This upcoming season can largely be considered a temporary solution-finding exercise, but the effort to create an economically viable product must begin now.

As the ICC and BCCI have found, silly pricing on broadcast deals will drive away smaller players in the streaming space.

And unlike sports like cricket and kabaddi – whose audiences still receive coverage on linear TV – football’s younger audience exists on OTT. Subsequently,

If players stay away due to price, this will further reduce AIFF’s options. JioStar and Sony Sports Network are almost the only major broadcast players in linear TV and digital.

What does the current RFP say?

The AIFF’s RFP for ISL’s media rights is a 39-page document that lays out a detailed qualification framework for potential bidders and specifies the time frame for submission, scrutiny, and evaluation of bids.

As per the schedule, AIFF has fixed January 23 for a pre-bid meeting with interested parties, while any written queries or requests for clarification can be addressed until January 27.

The deadline for submitting bids is 1 February at 5:00 PM IST, and each submission must include Rs. 5 lakhs. 5 lakhs. Eligibility conditions require bidders to be broadcasters or Internet operators with a minimum of three years of operational experience.

In addition, the bidders have to pay at least Rs. 10 crore in the most recent financial year (2024-25) and have an average annual income of not less than Rs. The bidders must have an average annual income of at least Rs. 10 crore over the last three financial years: 2022-23, 2023-24, and 2024-25.

In the case of a consortium bid, a maximum of three companies can come together under a special purpose vehicle (SPV). One member must be designated as ‘Lead Member’ and hold at least 51 per cent equity shares in the paid-up and subscribed share capital of the SPV.

Each bid will be evaluated on two components—technical and financial—with 70 percent and 30 percent weightage, respectively. The bidder with the highest overall score will be awarded the franchise for the upcoming season.