Indian Super League’s (ISL) broadcast plummeted significantly this year, from Rs 275 crore per season to just Rs 8.62 crore. There are obvious reasons for the fall – a shorter season with fewer matches and the lack of commercial partners, but most importantly, the chaos in Indian football, which at one point seriously threatened any possibility of having a top division league in the 2025-26 season.

The loss of commercial partner Football Sports Development Limited (FSDL) has been brutal for the All India Football Federation (AIFF), and the five-month delay in getting the ISL 2025-26 season underway is proof of it.

While setbacks have embedded themselves into the Indian football story like a mythical sword in stone, belief has remained just as firmly lodged within the chaos. The story of FanCode emerging ahead of everyone else to acquire the ISL’s media rights is born from that very belief.

Yes, they have had to pay a paltry sum as against what JioStar were paying, but it was never about the cost; it was always about the potential. Football often gets lost in the sporting narratives in India due to the giant that cricket has become, but once you dig deep, you realise millions are waiting to be served. Not just top-qualifying European football, but our own desi leagues.

It’s that potential number of fans who can be served, the unseen potential of the ISL, and its perfect alignment with the online streaming platform’s vision, which attracted the FanCode co-founder, Yannick Colaco, to the Indian Super League.

“We believe in sport. We believe in football. There’s a tremendous amount of following, especially among the younger generation. The growth of the game has to be facilitated by the stakeholders. The ISL clubs, AIFF, Sports Ministry have invested so much. It’s a no-brainer. We have an opportunity in this ecosystem to contribute…The ISL is the number one football tournament in this country. It has in the past 150 million fans across the country who support it. It was really important that the season happened,” Colaco, the former Managing Director of NBA India, told Firstpost.

The Indian Football Family ❤️💫

Catch all the ISL action LIVE on FanCode 📲#ISL12 | @IndSuperLeague pic.twitter.com/S0xg237Yb6

— FanCode (@FanCode) February 20, 2026

While it may come as music to the ears of some fans and stakeholders, the even more consequential point was the full scale of the untapped potential.

“There are 300 million football fans in the country. I think that’s the opportunity.”

This gap – between 150 million ISL viewers and 300 million football consumers – defines the ambition. For years, Indian football followers have passionately tracked the Premier League, La Liga, the Champions League, Ronaldo, Messi, Manchester United. The domestic game, meanwhile, has often struggled to command the same consistency of attention.

Colaco believes that the divide is bridgeable.

“I think every football fan, whether they are a football fan of La Liga, whether you’re a football fan of Ronaldo, whether you’re a football fan of Manchester United, has the potential to become an avid Indian football fan.”

But what is in it for the fans? Maybe consistency, quality, accessibility and a relatable product. The exit of FSDL has created a fear that the game may descend into an abyss that ruled the Indian footballing landscape not long ago.

ISL’s new home has fans at the centre 

But the new broadcasters are aware and ready! The idea is not only to serve the big cities’ boys or girls, but to use technology and make the matches and content available in a way that it’s consumed broadly, even in Tier-2 and Tier-3 markets. The ISL full-season pass is available for just ₹299 on FanCode. A club-specific pass is just ₹149 and individual match passes are ₹25. The commentary is also available in different languages to create relatability. Technology is being used to the best of its ability to make buffering and lag issues disappear.

“How does it most efficiently come to you? If you don’t have a great bandwidth, how are you able to see it clearly without any buffering? And a subset of that, how do you, how does it take as little data as possible?”

“I think the thesis about being able to provide flexibility and choice essentially comes from us being a digital-first platform,” Colaco said. “We are doing feeds in English, Hindi, Malayalam, Bengali and Tamil for Chennaiyin games.”

But efforts are not just limited to matches.

You want the fans to come to the platform and stay there for a while. Don’t just watch a match and go away. When you stick with a product for a long time, a habit is formed. A bond is created that lasts forever. One would say maybe new fans would also be created.

“We are working with each club to run a program where we essentially select one super fan from each club and that super fan then follows the club throughout the season, goes to matches and training and essentially creates content. They basically tell the story of the club through the ISL season through their eyes,” Colaco revealed.

The smiles, the noise, the love = Peak Happiness 🥹💚♥️

Watch ISL 2026 on @FanCode 📺#MBSG #JoyMohunBagan #আমরাসবুজমেরুন pic.twitter.com/Ly0YKsQIdm

— Mohun Bagan Super Giant (@mohunbagansg) February 6, 2026

Then there is the longer view. It’s not a short-term game. Some loss here and there must not dissuade someone from looking at the larger goal and ISL’s full potential.

“There is a requirement for investment, there is a requirement to get fans more engaged. And that is something that we believe needs to be done over a few years. You can’t look at it saying, oh, in one month and now I’m going to, you know, make Indian football tremendously successful for everyone.”

“The focus of Dream Sports as a group is make sports better. And we imbibe that in everything that FanCode does,” Yannick said.

That statement matters because broadcast platforms shape perception. If coverage is consistent, data-rich, innovative and fan-centric, the league’s credibility rises alongside it.

While Sony Pictures was one of the first broadcasters to show interest in acquiring the media rights for the Indian Super League (ISL) 2025-26, it eventually did not make a bid, leading to fears that there would be no TV telecast for India’s biggest football property.

Eventually, the media rights for the ongoing curtailed ISL season were
bagged by online streaming platform FanCode for a reported fee of Rs 8.62 crore.

But thankfully for fans, the ISL is live on TV with matches being telecast on Sony Sports Ten 2. Sony Pictures Networks India (SPNI) has sublicensed linear television rights from FanCode, allowing them to broadcast India’s top division football league, and offering a chance to TV viewers to enjoy the ISL, while also expanding the league’s reach.

All in all, it’s a win-win for FanCode, Sony Sports, the ISL clubs and the All India Football Federation (AIFF).

We caught up with Rajesh Kaul, the chief revenue officer and the business head for sports and international at Sony Pictures Networks India, to understand why they did not initially bid for ISL media rights.

Kaul also explained to Firstpost how ISL’s TV viewership can be boosted, whether a muted response from viewers would impact the network’s future plans, and if Sony would return to bid for the media rights of India’s biggest football property.

Excerpts from the interview…

Q: Initially, Sony Sports stayed away from bidding, so why this U-turn to take TV rights from FanCode? Were production cost and the entire operations a factor while not bidding for ISL media rights?

Rajesh Kaul: We have always maintained that ISL is a valuable property and an important part of India’s football ecosystem. At the time of the bidding, we took a calibrated approach to evaluate the opportunity in the context of our broader sports portfolio and long-term investment priorities.

This partnership with FanCode presented the right strategic and commercial framework for us to bring ISL onto our network. It strengthens Sony Sports Network’s positioning as Home of Football in India and complements our existing portfolio, which includes UEFA competitions and domestic football properties.

Also Read |
ISL’s broadcast value explained: Why it fell from Rs 1.68 crore per match to Rs 9.5 lakh

Q: What response are you expecting from ISL on Sony Sports? Have you set any estimates? And what happens if it fails to match it?

Rajesh Kaul: ISL has built a strong and loyal fan base over the years and continues to be the premier football league in India. Football viewership in India has been growing steadily, and we believe ISL has significant potential to further expand its reach.

Sony Sports Ten 2 has already established itself as a preferred destination for football fans, and we are confident that ISL will benefit from our strong distribution, production quality, and marketing support. Our focus is on scaling up the fan engagement rather than short-term benchmarks.

𝘐𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘢𝘯 𝘚𝘶𝘱𝘦𝘳 𝘓𝘦𝘢𝘨𝘶𝘦 is back! And it’s LIVE on YOUR TV SCREENS ⚽ 📺

Watch the #ISL action unfold LIVE on Sony Sports Network TV channels. #SonySportsNetwork #IndianSuperLeague #ISL #IndianFootball pic.twitter.com/AC3IXqeApK

— Sony Sports Network (@SonySportsNetwk) February 14, 2026

Q: What do you believe can help boost ISL viewership on TV?

Rajesh Kaul: The key to growing viewership lies in consistent visibility, strong storytelling around clubs and players, and making the content accessible to a wider audience. We plan to support ISL with a comprehensive marketing effort.

Additionally, innovations such as regional language feeds, deeper fan engagement initiatives, and building stronger narratives around rivalries and emerging talent can significantly enhance viewer engagement and expand the league’s footprint.

Q: Will you bid for ISL media rights for next season?

Rajesh Kaul: We continuously evaluate opportunities that align with our strategic priorities and portfolio strength. Our focus remains on investing in properties that offer long-term value and deepen engagement with sports fans.

We will assess future opportunities around ISL and other sports properties at the appropriate time, in line with our business objectives.

The Indian Super League (ISL) avoided a fresh crisis after Kerala Blasters FC were almost denied the right to play at their home ground just hours before their clash against Mumbai City FC.

The three-time ISL runners-up were set to host Mumbai City on Sunday, February 22, at the Jawaharlal Nehru International Stadium in Kochi. However, trouble began when the Greater Cochin Development Authority (GCDA), which owns the stadium, suddenly increased the rent by Rs 2.2 lakh per match just two days before the fixture.

The GCDA also demanded that the Blasters clear a balance amount of over Rs 22 lakh from last season’s deposit. The club was given a deadline of 4 pm on Saturday to settle the dues. Several meetings were held in the last two days before the deadline, but no solution was reached initially.

Kerala Blasters resolve the issue

The situation became serious on Saturday morning around 11:30 am. The routine
pre-match press conference was cancelled, and head coach David Catala, midfielder Rowllin Borges, and journalists were asked to leave the stadium by security personnel. The stadium gates were then locked and some of the offices set up by Kerala Blasters for match preparations were shut down. Even club officials and representatives of the All India Football Federation (AIFF) were asked to leave.

This created uncertainty just 24 hours before the match. However, relief finally came later in the day. The GCDA allowed the match to go ahead as scheduled after the club agreed to pay a total of Rs 28 lakh within a week. In a statement, Kerala Blasters said, “In the end, football is the winner. We will take to the field against Mumbai City FC tomorrow (Sunday) for our first home game of the season.”

ℹ️ An update#KeralaBlasters #KBFC #YennumYellow pic.twitter.com/DdxCyVBsvn

— Kerala Blasters FC (@KeralaBlasters) February 21, 2026

According to The Indian Express, the players were not affected by the developments. Both teams conducted their training sessions at the Blasters’ training facility, which is located around 10 km away from the stadium.

For now, the crisis has been avoided and the focus has shifted back to football. But the episode has once again highlighted the off-field challenges that clubs in the ISL continue to face despite the start of the league.

The Indian Super League (ISL) 2025-26 match between Kerala Blasters FC and Mumbai City FC at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Kochi on Sunday (22 February) is in doubt after stadium authorities disallowed a pre-match press conference on Saturday.

The Sunday match will be the Kerala Blasters’ first home match in the new season, which has already been delayed due to a lack of a commercial partner for the ISL. Blasters started the season with a 2-0 defeat in an away match on 14 February in Kolkata against Mohun Bagan.

Kerala Blasters vs GCDA dispute

And while they would be hoping to return to winning ways with a victory over Mumbai City in their first home game of the season, uncertainty now looms over the match due to differences between the club and Greater Cochin Development Authority (GCDA), the owners of Kaloor Stadium, also known as the Jawaharlal Nehru International Stadium.

The main dispute stems from GCDA’s new rent demand of Rs 4.2 lakh plus GST for a match. The towering demand was made on 19 February, according to Onmanorama, and only 10 days after a rent of Rs 2 lakh plus GST for each match was agreed.

“GCDA has decided to relax the stadium rent. We’re in consensus on that matter. Last year, it was ₹8.4 lakh per match. This time, it is ₹2 lakh only,” GCDA Chairman K Chandran Pillai said at the press conference on 11 February.

“It is a substantial reduction from the GCDA side due to social responsibility and because the Blasters have played a series of matches here.

“An important aspect is that this is a one-time measure. There is no question of repeating that. This time, the economic compulsions and constraints of the Blasters as well as the ISL and All India Football Federation’s expression to us, we considered that.

But they have now revised the rent to Rs 4.2 lakh plus GST for each match, which the Blasters have reportedly refused to pay.

Things got worse on Saturday when the media personnel were not allowed enter the press conference hall at the stadium due to the payment dispute, a report in Khel Now claimed. The press conference was eventually held online as the main entrance to the stadium was locked.

Stadium Rooms locked, Change in rates after a public press conference, Denying access to the only ISL Club in the state…

Is this how GCDA plans it’s “Development” ?#ShameonyouGCDA #KBFC pic.twitter.com/OMe6QzpmJp

— Manjappada (@kbfc_manjappada) February 21, 2026

It’s quite possible that the club manages to strike a deal with GCDA before the match takes place tomorrow, but for now, there’s no guarantee. The recent episode also highlights the brutal nature of running a professional football club in India.