JioStar wants out: the money behind cricket's ODI World Cup is set to shrink

The ODI World Cup endures less because of tradition and more because it prints money — but the broadcast deals that have funded the 50-over showpiece for decades are set to shrink, raising fresh questions about the format's long-term survival.

The 2023 edition earned record revenue of USD719,000 against direct expenses of USD147,000 — almost five times as much coming in as going out. In 2019, the World Cup made USD557,000 for the price of USD138,000, more than four times the outlay. Next year's tournament in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia is expected to generate more than USD1,500,000,000 — more than twice what it made in 2023.

Cricket's World Cup exists mainly because broadcasters pay the ICC vast sums to put it on air. The 2024 to 2027 rights deal was worth USD3,670,000,000 globally, with USD3,000,000,000 of that earned in India alone. The broadcasters have spent that kind of money because they know they can recoup it, and make far more, from advertising.

But the bubble is set to burst. JioStar, who hold the rights in India, are keen to extricate themselves from their 2024 to 2027 contract — which accounts for just under 80% of the global ICC deal. The broadcaster says advertising revenue has stalled while rights fees have rocketed, leaving it losing money. JioStar are unlikely to win that battle in the current cycle, but future contract values are clearly headed down — by anywhere from 30% to 50%, according to estimates.

The scramble by national boards to establish franchise T20 tournaments should help bridge the gap, though the calendar is already packed and every country that could support a league will get one. On September 11, 2026, Ricky Ponting warned precisely this: that ODI cricket would be played less as T20 leagues expand.

Lara's Ryder Cup analogy doesn't quite fit

Brian Lara's defence of the ODI World Cup leans on a Ryder Cup comparison, but the analogy doesn't hold up neatly. The golf event turns 100 next year and has stayed largely what it was at inception: matchplay between teams from the United States and Europe. Cricket's first World Cup was played by women in June and July 1973, with the men following in June 1975 — meaning the Ryder Cup carries nearly double the tradition and gravitas of the cricket World Cup.

It is, in truth, easier to see parallels between the Ryder Cup and Test cricket than to accept Lara's argument. That doesn't mean World Cups haven't given cricket indelible memories — Lara himself supplied several — but it does mean the 2027 edition could be the last if the money that sustains it keeps drying up.