Published : 31 Mar 2026, 06:18 PM
Updated : 21 Aug 2026, 03:32 PM
After JioStar terminated its broadcast deals in Bangladesh for the Indian Premier League (IPL), an official of the T Sports channel has said they did not have a direct contract with the Indian entertainment venture to air the cricket tournament.
He revealed the information to bdnews24.com on Monday, several hours after Reuters reported that JioStar scrapped the deal with the Bangladesh broadcaster citing default bills.
"The agreement stands terminated with immediate effect," JioStar said in a letter dated Feb 17 to T Sports, which had sublicensed the rights from JioStar for IPL seasons from 2023 to 2027.
According to Reuters, the Indian company cited "T Sports' continued failure and default in adhering to the payment timelines stipulated under the agreement".
The official, requesting anonymity, said they had inked only a “digital” contract with the Indian company and that T Sports itself requested them to cancel it, and that his employer owes no money to JioStar.
He said: "T-Sports never directly bought the rights of the IPL to show the games on TV. A third-party agency or company has always bought the rights and they used to relay the matches on our screen rental.
“Last time, TSM (Total Sports Marketing) bought the rights and broadcast the IPL on our TV. We never had a contract with them (JioStar). So, there is no possibility of cancelling the contract with us."
On the "default payment" front, the official said: "They are such a big company. If you have any outstanding bills, they’ll never let anybody show the following edition of the IPL.”
In the case of big events like ICC tournaments or the IPL, they do not grant the broadcasting rights without ensuring full payment upfront, he said.
Saying that the “digital” deal was struck to secure OTT rights, the official said: “We requested them to discontinue it. But they requested us to continue it as per the contract, instead."
The T Sports official also said: "Since our government has banned the airing of the IPL, we’ve informed them that there is no opportunity for us to continue this [broadcast the tournament]."
On Saturday, Bangladesh clarified that the interim government’s decision to suspend the telecast of the IPL is still in effect.
The T Sports official said they will issue an official statement soon.
