Will Zee’s re-entry into sports broadcasting see them buy FIFA World Cup rights?

New Delhi: In March, Zee Entertainment decided to revise its entertainment offerings on linear TV and rebranded that into sports genre. In the Reference Interconnect Offer (RIO) that followed, the planned sports entities were placed against Star and Sony Sports channels in the competitive set.

More recently, Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited (ZEEL) filed trademark request for Unite8 Sports - its own sports offering.



As per reports, the company is going to launch seven channels under this bouquet: Unite8 Sports, Unite8 Sports 1, Unite8 Sports 2, Unite8 Sports 1 HD, Unite8 Sports 1 HD Hindi, Unite8 Sports 2 HD and, Unite8 Sports 2 HD Hindi.

The timing of these moves comes at a time when no official broadcaster has been named for India for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which begins on June 11. The interested parties and FIFA could not come to an agreement over the pricing of the event which will be played in the USA, Canada and Mexico -- with games set to be played when most of India will be sleeping.

Potential of losing out on a big market prompted the governing body to send its executives to India to negotiate in person.

FIFA were initially looking for $100 million from the deal but were agreeing to budge to $60 million - reportedly the same figure for which rights have been sold in China to China Media Group last week.

However, Reliance-Disney joint venture JioStar had valued the FIFA rights for the upcoming 48-team competition at $20 million, a figure not agreeable for FIFA.

ZEEL had announced its intention to re-enter the sports broadcasting sector last year - eight years after divesting its channels to Culver Max Entertainment Private Limited (the corporate name for Sony Pictures Networks India).

ZEEL had first entered the sports broadcasting sector in 2005 with Zee Sports. It expanded a year later by acquiring Ten Sports. ZEEL Deputy CEO and CFO Mukund Galgali had said last year, "We plan to re-enter the space, albeit with a clear emphasis on profitability. We do not intend to pursue high-cost properties merely for top-line growth; rather, we shall take a considered approach in selecting sporting rights."

ZEEL already holds the exclusive broadcast rights for the UAE-based International League T20 (ILT20) competition.

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