Great news for Indian football lovers. With just ten days left for the FIFA World Cup, the uncertainty among the country’s football fans regarding which channel they can enjoy the matches on has finally come to an end. Zee Entertainment Enterprises has acquired the broadcasting rights for multiple major tournaments, including the World Cup. The deal was finalized with FIFA today. As a result of this agreement, not only the 2026 World Cup, but also the 2030 World Cup and the 2027 Women’s World Cup will be broadcast on Zee Network channels.
According to Zee Network, as part of this deal, they have already created a new sports network named ‘United 8 Sports’, where sports will be the primary focus of broadcasting. This network will comprise a total of four channels. These channels are—United 8 Sports 1, United 8 Sports 1 HD, United 8 Sports 2, and United 8 Sports 2 HD.
Popular sports in India such as football, cricket, kabaddi, badminton, wrestling, and boxing will be broadcast on these four channels. Apart from these channels, the World Cup matches will also be live-streamed on the Zee5 app.
The agreement between Zee Network and FIFA is valid until 2034. During this period, several important FIFA events, including the FIFA U-17 World Cup, U-20 World Cup, Futsal World Cup, and Women’s Futsal World Cup, will be broadcast on Zee Network channels. Zee Network has not disclosed the financial amount involved in this deal with FIFA. However, according to sources, the value of this deal is approximately ₹332 crore (3.32 billion rupees). Initially, no company had stepped forward when FIFA demanded ₹900 crore. Consequently, FIFA was forced to reduce the price later on.
FIFA World Cup to be Broadcast on Zee Network Channels
