At around 6.38 PM IST on Tuesday, JioStar unveiled its Twenty20 World Cup teaser. The short clip, effectively a promotional campaign for the blue-riband global event of 2026, comes against the backdrop of media reports and intense social media speculation that the official broadcaster - one of the world's largest networks - is looking to exit from its four-year media-rights deal with the International Cricket Council (ICC).

This is not to suggest that launching a marketing campaign rules out the possibility of the broadcaster pulling the plug on its USD 3-billion deal, but the two developments don't quite sit comfortably together. "They don't add up," said an industry expert, noting that an exit from such a mega agreement would be untimely and hasty. "The contracts are watertight, and there would be bank guarantees involved as well."

More pertinently, JioStar - earlier Star Sports before the mega merger about 12 months ago - has enjoyed a long-enduring relationship with the ICC, having entered into a commercial association way back as 2007. Star's collaboration with other parties came much later - with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) in 2011, and with the IPL in 2018. After such a sustained and mutually beneficial alliance, neither party would want to take the matters to the point of arbitration.

It is also a fact that the USD 3-billion deal, which Jio inherited from Star after the merger, is heavily overpriced. The second-highest bid at that time was Sony's USD 1.6 billion, while Jio itself had bid for only USD 900 million. Naturally, a deal of this size, scope and scale would place a substantial financial burden on the company, and there are indications that the broadcaster has conveyed its concerns to the world cricket regulator.

How these concerns will be addressed remains a matter between the two parties, but it is understood that the broadcaster and the regulator have been in constant contact over the crippling financial burden on the broadcaster. There are two more years left in the deal.

There are confirmations that the ICC has approached other potential broadcasters - including Sony Pictures Networks India, Amazon and Netflix - seeking their interest in the global cricket properties, with a request to revert within a week. The outreach, in particular, to Netflix is a surprise, but it is not entirely out of place. In fact, it carries some significance given that the California-based media company is in the process of acquiring Warner Bros. and Discovery Films, and part of that takeover will include a sports network too.

An official query to the ICC went unanswered, but sources familiar with the development maintain that such communications are part of routine commercial negotiations with potential bidders and broadcasters. It is understood that none of the companies mentioned above can realistically step in for a behemoth like JioStar.

Besides, the hands of the ICC may be tied, given that all but two of its over 100 member countries rely heavily on their share of the global revenues and would have already budgeted for their cricket operations for the next couple of years. The only boards not realistically dependent on the ICC funding are India and England, both of which have the financial heft to run their domestic operations independently. India, of course, is in an entirely different league.

It could be a fact that the broadcaster is incurring heavy losses from the deal, but a total exit appears unlikely going by the recent developments. Both parties have been in discussions for some time - including on plans for future events - and are expected to work out a middle path. They need each other. Industry experts say JioStar's indispensability gives it some leverage to seek concessions, and how that plays out remains to be seen. A JioStar spokesperson did not offer a comment.

The ICC, meanwhile, has reportedly cautioned its members that revenues in the next media-rights cycle may not be as high, and their individual shares could consequently be not as much. An internal Cricket Netherlands (KNCB) document mentions a substantial downturn in revenue flows after the current cycle.

"The ICC have warned to expect a 30 per cent revenue decrease in 2028 when their media contracts come up for renewal. This knowledge necessitates the KNCB to prepare immediately and do everything we can to safeguard domestic and HP cricket by taking the necessary measures," the document, seen by Cricbuzz, says.