Summary of this article
Sony Sports acquires 20th Asian Games Aichi-Nagoya 2026 across India and Indian subcontinent
The games are set to take place in Japan from September 19 to October 4
India won 107 medals in last edition - its best-ever performance in the event
Sony Pictures has grabbed the broadcasting rights for the 20th Asian Games Aichi-Nagoya 2026 across India, as well as the Indian subcontinent. The event is set to take place in Japan from September 19 to October 4, 2026, and will be televised live on the Sony Sports Network. It will also be streamed live on the Sony LIV app.
India's track record in the Asian Games has been scintillating; in fact, in the last edition only, India marked its presence with 107 medals - its best-ever performance in the event.
With such a memorable performance, a roaring statement was made by the subcontinent nation of his rapidly growing sporting prowess on the continent, and this time around, they'll only want to elevate it to the next level.
The Asian Games are among the largest multi-sport events in the world, where top players across 41 sports (including 32 Olympic sports) compete against each other to claim their ascendancy.
This time around, there are new additions such as Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), along with the regular ones like Cricket, Tennis, Esports, Kabaddi, Sepak Takraw, and Kurash.
For Indians their beloved Cricket is once against a feature of the Games for both Men's and Women's that brings another opportunity to the Men and Women in Blue to to reclaim their honor of being Asia’s best.
The presence of cricket also enhances the chances of increasing India's medal tally in the quest to top its previous best tally of the last edition.
Relief for India’s Declining Sports Broadcast Industry
While the cricket broadcasting industry is surging to new levels and shattering records with each new cycle, the outlook remains bleak for the rest of the sports .
FIFA offered the media rights in India for the upcoming World Cup for $100 million. However, when they saw no takers, they offered a steep 65% discount and asked $35 million.
Surprisingly, it still failed to attract any bids. While there were some justifiable business reasons for that, it's still hard to digest that in a country, where cricket rights for a domestic tournament like the IPL are sold for a whopping $ 6.4 billion, there are no takers for the rights of the biggest sporting event in the world at such a discounted price.
Another example of the sorry state of affairs of sports commercialism in our country came to the fore when the 2025-26 ISL season was put on hold in July due to the uncertainty over the renewal of the Master Rights Agreement (MRA) between the league's former organisers, Football Sports Development Limited (FSDL), and the AIFF.
The MRA deal expired on December 8, which created a contractual standoff leading to the Indian Supreme Court's intervention, under whose supervision a new tender was floated for the commercial rights of India's premier domestic football league, but again there were no takers for it.
Amidst the dilapidated state of sports commercialism in our country, the purchase of broadcasting rights for a marquee sports tournament brings some respite, but still there's a long way to go.
Is Cricket included in Asian Games 2026?
Yes both Men's and Women's cricket are included in Asian Games 2026.
When will the Asian Games 2026 start?
The Asian games are set to take place in Japan from September 19 to October 4.
