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After months of uncertainty, football fans in India finally have something to celebrate.
What’s buzzin’: Zee Entertainment shares rose nearly 3% after the company secured the rights to broadcast and stream the FIFA World Cup 2026 in India, giving a major boost to its sports portfolio.
The matches will be shown on Zee’s newly launched Unite8 Sports channels, while live streaming will be available on Zee5.
Some numbers: FIFA initially wanted close to $100 million for the India package covering both the 2026 and 2030 World Cups. That valuation eventually fell to around $35 million.
JioStar reportedly offered about $20 million, but the bid was rejected. Sony explored the opportunity but never submitted a formal offer. Even Doordarshan entered the race at one point.
What makes this story so interesting?
India is home to one of the world's largest sports audiences.
More than 110 million digital viewers reportedly followed the Qatar World Cup in 2022. Yet finding a broadcaster for football's biggest event became one of FIFA's biggest commercial challenges.
Most broadcasters point to one issue: timing. Many World Cup matches are played late at night or in the early hours of the morning for Indian viewers, making it harder to attract advertisers and large television audiences.
But football fans would disagree. Every four years, casual viewers suddenly become football experts. Friend groups pick sides and millions stay awake long past midnight.
After all, if kick-off timings were really the deciding factor, generations of Indian fans would never have stayed up until 3 AM to watch Messi, Ronaldo, Mbappé and countless other football legends.
