Zee Entertainment in Talks With FIFA for 2026 World Cup Broadcast Rights in India

Zee Entertainment stated on Tuesday that it is in discussions with FIFA to stream and broadcast the 2026 World Cup in India. The announcement did not include financial details. The talks occur as negotiations between a Reliance-Disney joint venture and FIFA remain stalled, with the tournament scheduled to begin on June 11.

FIFA initially sought $100 million for broadcast rights covering the 2026 and 2030 World Cups in India and later sought no less than about $60 million, according to Reuters. Sony also held talks but decided not to submit an offer.

Entertainment disclosed the FIFA discussions as part of the launch of Unite8 Sports, a portfolio of dedicated sports channels. India accounted for 2.9 percent of the global linear TV reach of the 2022 Qatar World Cup, ranking second only to China, with more than 745 million fans following coverage across all media platforms, FIFA figures showed.

The country ranked among the top 10 nations in television viewing numbers, ahead of Germany, France and England, with nearly 84 million viewers.