FIFA (International Football Federation) has reached a deal with India’s Zee Entertainment to broadcast the 2026 World Cup in the country, ending a months-long impasse over the availability of the tournament in one of the last major markets where the rights had not yet been sold.
Financial terms were not disclosed. FIFA had initially asked for around US$100 million (R$505 million) for India’s broadcast rights package, which covers the 2026 and 2030 World Cups, before reducing its request to US$60 million (R$303 million), as previously reported by Reuters.
The deal gives Zee a privileged position in India’s sports broadcasting market, where JioStar, a joint venture between Reliance and Disney, holds rights ranging from the Indian Premier League cricket tournament to the English Premier League.
The agreement was reached just 10 days before the start of the tournament, on June 11, in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
Zee shares rose about 7% the day after the announcement.
Time zone differences
Billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s JioStar, which broadcast the 2022 World Cup through its predecessor Viacom18, had offered around US$20 million (R$101 million) for the rights, but the offer was rejected by FIFA.
Sony, which holds the rights to the 2014 and 2018 tournaments, held talks but did not present a proposal.
Viacom18 paid around US$60 million for the rights to the 2022 World Cup, held in Qatar, in time zones much more favorable to the Indian public.
Most of this year’s matches will be broadcast late at night in India due to the time difference, which has dampened interest from broadcasters and complicated FIFA’s sales efforts.
The agreement signed this Monday covers 39 FIFA events over eight years, until 2034, also including the 2027 Women’s World Cup.
