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

2026 FIFA World Cup (via Getty Images) New Delhi: In March, Zee Entertainment decided to revise its entertainment offering on linear television, rebranding it as a sports genre. In the Reference Interconnect Offer (RIO) that followed, the scheduled sports entities were placed in a competitive set against the Star and Sony Sports channels.Recently, Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited (ZEEL) filed a trademark application for Unite8 Sports – its own sports offering.According to reports, the company will 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 the moves comes at a time when no official host has been named for India for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which begins on June 11. Stakeholders and FIFA have been unable to agree on a price for the event, which will be played in the US, Canada and Mexico – with games to be played when most of India is asleep.The potential of losing out on the big market prompted the governing body to send its executives to India to negotiate in person.FIFA originally expected $100 million from the deal, but agreed to drop to $60 million — reportedly the same amount for which the rights were sold in China to China Media Group last week.However, the Reliance-Disney JV JioStar has valued the FIFA rights for the upcoming 48-team competition at $20 million, a figure unacceptable to FIFA.ZEEL announced its intention to re-enter the sports broadcasting sector last year – eight years after it sold its channels to Culver Max Entertainment Private Limited (the name of Sony Pictures Networks India).ZEEL first entered the sports broadcasting sector in 2005 with Zee Sports. A year later, it expanded with the acquisition of Ten Sports. ZEEL Deputy CEO and CFO Mukund Galgali said last year: “We plan to re-enter this space, albeit with a clear focus on profitability. We do not intend to pursue high-cost real estate just for top-line growth; rather, we will take a deliberate approach when selecting sports rights.”ZEEL already holds the exclusive broadcast rights for the UAE-based International League T20 (ILT20) competition.