With just 10 days left for the World Cup to begin, the long-awaited worries of Indian football fans have finally come to an end. Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited made a big announcement on Monday, ending all uncertainty about where the World Cup matches will be telecast in India. Zee Entertainment has signed a major deal with FIFA to broadcast the World Cup in India for the next eight years.
The long-term deal will see not only this year’s men’s World Cup broadcast, but a total of 39 major international tournaments, including the 2027 and 2031 women’s World Cups as well as the 2030 and 2034 men’s World Cups. Zee Entertainment said the matches will be telecast live on its four new sports channels launched recently – Unite8 Sports 1, Unite8 Sports 1 HD, Unite8 Sports 2 and Unite8 Sports 2 HD respectively. Along with television subscribers, digital viewers can also enjoy the games through the ZEE5 OTT app.
While the actual financial details of the deal have not been officially disclosed, a source said that the eight-year deal has been finalized with FIFA for around Rs 332 crore in Indian currency. No other sports broadcaster in India has agreed to invest this much money. G Entertainment has been in talks with FIFA’s top leadership for the past several days and the process was successfully concluded on Monday.
“India has a huge football audience and the Indian market has always been very important to FIFA,” FIFA Chief Business Officer Romy Guy said. He expressed happiness that Zee Entertainment has come forward to broadcast the Football World Cup. He expressed confidence that the matches will be enjoyed by football fans across India through various TV channels and OTT media. At present, technical preparations for broadcasting are being accelerated.