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Reports say FIFA and broadcasters in both countries are still arguing over the cost of the rights. In India, FIFA was reportedly asking for around $60–100 million, while Reliance-Disney reportedly only offered around $20 million. Sony also reportedly backed away because the deal didn’t make financial sense.

In China, FIFA reportedly originally asked CCTV for around $300 million before lowering it to around $120–150 million, but that’s still said to be more than double CCTV’s budget.

Chinese media also pointed out that China didn’t qualify for the tournament, which could reduce interest, and because the World Cup is being hosted in North America, many matches will air very late at night across Asia.

What makes this even more unusual is that broadcasting deals for tournaments this big are normally completed months or even years in advance. FIFA already has deals done in around 180 territories, yet two of the world’s biggest markets still don’t officially have confirmed broadcasters just weeks before kickoff.