Zee Entertainment says it is in negotiations with FIFA to acquire streaming and broadcast rights for the 2026 FIFA World Cup in India, the company announced on Tuesday. The statement did not disclose any financial terms.
The development comes with the tournament less than three weeks away — kickoff is scheduled for June 11 — and follows a stalemate in talks between a Reliance-Disney joint venture and FIFA. Reuters has reported that FIFA initially sought roughly $100 million for rights covering the 2026 and 2030 tournaments in India and later reduced its minimum expectation to about $60 million. That ask remains well above the roughly $20 million offer made by the Reliance-Disney group, led by billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance.
Sony reportedly held discussions but ultimately chose not to submit an offer. FIFA has said it has finalized agreements with broadcasters in more than 180 territories worldwide, but rights in India had remained unresolved until Zee’s announcement.
Zee framed its talks with FIFA around the launch of Unite8 Sports, a new portfolio of sports channels and services intended to grow its sports footprint and offer fans more live coverage and related programming.
India has been a major market for the World Cup. FIFA data from the 2022 Qatar tournament showed India accounted for 2.9 percent of global linear TV reach — second only to China — with more than 745 million people following the event across all media platforms. Television viewing in India reached nearly 84 million, placing the country among the top ten TV audiences and ahead of several participating nations, including Germany, France and England.
Negotiations appear to be continuing as the countdown to the 2026 World Cup proceeds, and Zee’s talks with FIFA raise the possibility of last-minute resolution of broadcast rights in India.
