The league has had no broadcast partner since the Rs 905 crore Star India deal ended with Season 12, and a source says the new offer is half the old one.
The Pro Kabaddi League will not stage a season in 2026. Season 13 is now expected in the June-July 2027 window, Khel Now reported on Sunday, 1 November, because the league still has no broadcast partner more than a year after its last media rights deal expired.
The five-year agreement with Star India, now JioStar, ran from Season 8 through Season 12 and was valued at roughly Rs 905 crore. It ended when Season 12 finished in October 2025, and negotiations for a fresh deal have not produced an agreement. That leaves the league facing a long pause, with its television future and revenue model unsettled.
A source close to the development told Khel Now that the market had shown little appetite for the rights.
“There has not been much interest in the open market, and the new deal offered by the current broadcaster is half of the previous deal. So all parties have decided that we need more time, and we will not see PKL before June 2027,” the source said.
The calendar had already ruled out 2026. The player auction usually takes place a few months before a season begins. Ahead of Season 12, it was held on 31 May and 1 June 2025, and the season started on 29 August. With only two months of 2026 left and no word on an auction, there is no room for PKL 13 this year.
Season 12 ended on 31 October 2025, when Dabang Delhi K.C. beat Puneri Paltan 31-28 in the final at the Thyagaraj Indoor Stadium in New Delhi to win their second title. Fans have been waiting for news on Season 13 ever since.
PKL franchise owners have gone to the Sports Ministry for guidance, according to the report, following a route taken by Indian Super League clubs earlier this year.
In May, ISL clubs wrote to the All India Football Federation and the Sports Ministry seeking a club-led structure after their commercial arrangement ended. Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya met the clubs in June and asked them and the AIFF to set up a task force and return with a commercial plan. The ISL has since begun its 2026-27 season under a club-led model.
The report did not say what the kabaddi owners have asked for, or how the ministry has responded.
The previous rights sale drew objections of its own. In 2021, Mashal Sports, which runs the league, opened a media rights auction with a floor price of Rs 900 crore for five seasons. Sony, Dream11 and Reliance were among the companies that picked up the tender document, but Star India was the lone bidder and secured the rights for about Rs 905 crore, slightly above the floor, in the agreement that covered Seasons 8 to 12.
Several owners objected to that sale. They argued that Star India’s 74 per cent holding in Mashal Sports created a conflict of interest, and said the auction failed to show the real market value of the rights. Mashal Sports dismissed the charge at the time, calling it “baseless”.
Anand Mahindra and Charu Sharma launched PKL in 2014, and Star Sports has carried the league since its debut season. According to Star’s figures, the inaugural season drew 435 million viewers, a number bettered only by IPL 2014 with 552 million. Star India later bought a 74 per cent stake in Mashal Sports, making it the league’s majority owner. PKL is often described as India’s second-most-watched league after the Indian Premier League.
The source’s account points to a narrow market: little interest from outside bidders, and an offer from the incumbent broadcaster at half the value of the last deal.
The pause comes during a strong spell for Indian kabaddi on the international stage. India’s men and women both won gold at the Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya in September, beating Iran in the finals, and then won the first Commonwealth Kabaddi Championship in Ahmedabad.
There is still no date for the Season 13 player auction. The next media rights deal will shape where fans watch PKL and how far the league can expand in India and overseas, and on current reporting, the league will not return before June 2027.
This article was written with AI assistance from the sources listed above and checked against them. Our editor reads everything we publish and corrects it where needed. Our editorial standards
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