The FIFA World Cup 2026 will finally be shown in India, as Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited announced a commercial partnership to broadcast the tournament.
The Zee Group will telecast the tournament on its four newly launched channels, while ZEE5 will live-stream the World Cup online..
The announcement comes less than two weeks before the start of the tournament, with the quadrennial showpiece scheduled between June 11 and July 19 in the United States of America, Mexico and Canada.
The World Cup’s streaming and broadcast rights have become the latest project for the Indian media conglomerate, which has previously broadcast the I-League, the top flight of Indian men’s football, and the Uttar Pradesh Kabaddi League.
Earlier this month, ZEE launched four new sports channels under its United 8 cluster as it entered discussions with the Fédération Internationale de Football Association, the governing body of football and the upcoming World Cup.
“We are excited to bring one of the world’s biggest sporting spectacles to Indian audiences. Football cuts across regions and demographics, and the investments in garnering the media rights and launching dedicated sports channels, reflect our clear belief in its long-term potential,” said Punit Goenka, CEO, Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd.
Though no official figure has been publicly quoted for the World Cup broadcasting deal, it is reportedly in the range of 30 to 35 million dollars, which is approximately Rs. 320 Cr.
The FIFA World Cup 2026 will be the biggest edition of the tournament, featuring 48 teams and 104 matches. However, match timings beyond midnight saw mellow interest initially from media conglomerates in India.
As a result, FIFA, which valued the broadcast rights for India at around USD 100 million, reduced the asking price to around USD 35 million.
The late kick-off timings and dwindling interest in football streaming saw Sony – the official broadcaster of the 2014 and 2018 World Cups – withdraw, while Reliance-owned JioStar, which showed the last edition of the World Cup, valued the rights only around USD 20 million.
It is here that ZEE entered the market to wrap up the rights.
Published on Jun 01, 2026
