Zee Entertainment is in talks with FIFA to stream and broadcast the 2026 World Cup in India. The negotiations come weeks before the tournament begins on June 11, with other talks between a Reliance-Disney joint venture and FIFA reported as deadlocked. FIFA initially sought $100 million for broadcast rights for the 2026 and 2030 World Cups in India and later was reported to be looking for about $60 million, far above the $20 million offered by Reliance-Disney. Sony held talks but did not submit an offer. FIFA has agreements with broadcasters across more than 180 territories. Zee’s talks were disclosed alongside the launch of Unite8 Sports, and FIFA figures show strong Indian audience engagement for the 2022 World Cup.
"Broadcasting rights for FIFA World Cup 2026 in India have been at a deadlock only weeks ahead of June 11 kickoff. India's Zee Entertainment is in talks with FIFA to stream and broadcast the 2026 World Cup in the country, the company said in a statement. The announcement on Tuesday, which provided no financial details, comes as talks between a Reliance-Disney joint venture and the football body are at a deadlock, just weeks before the tournament kicks off on June 11."
"FIFA, which had initially sought $100m for broadcast rights for the 2026 and 2030 World Cups in India, was last looking for no less than about $60m, the news agency Reuters had reported. The expected amount still far exceeds the $20m offered by Reliance-Disney, led by billionaire Mukesh Ambani's Reliance. Sony also held talks but decided not to make an offer for FIFA rights for India."
"Zee Entertainment disclosed its talks with FIFA as part of its launch of Unite8 Sports, a dedicated portfolio of sports channels to strengthen its sports offerings to consumers. India accounted for 2.9 percent of the global linear TV reach of the Qatar World Cup in 2022, trailing only China in overall engagement figures, with more than 745 million fans following the action across all media platforms in the country, according to figures released by FIFA."
"In television viewing numbers, India was among the top 10 countries ahead of World Cup participants Germany, France and England with nearly 84 million viewers."
Read at www.aljazeera.com
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