FIFA has reached a broadcast agreement with India's Zee Entertainment to air the World Cup in the country, ending months of deadlock over tournament access in one of the last major markets where rights remained unsold.
The financial terms of the package, signed on Monday, were not disclosed. However, FIFA was earlier reported to have sought around $100 million for the 2026 and 2030 World Cups, later reducing the asking price to $60 million.
The deal gives Zee a foothold in India's sports broadcasting market, where the Reliance-Disney joint venture JioStar holds rights from the IPL cricket league to the English Premier League.
According to a joint statement from FIFA and Zee, the agreement covers 39 FIFA events over eight years, through 2034, including the 2027 Women's World Cup.
Zee's shares rose about 7% on the day of the announcement.
The deal was signed just 10 days before the 2026 World Cup kicks off on June 11 across the United States, Canada, and Mexico.
Last month, experts told Al Jazeera that match timings — most games will be played in time zones 10-12 hours behind India — were the biggest concern for Indian broadcasters. Only 14 of 104 World Cup matches will start before midnight for Indian audiences. The final in New Jersey on July 19 kicks off at 19:00 GMT, which is 12:30 a.m. on July 20 in India. By comparison, 98.4% of 2018 World Cup matches began before midnight, and 82.5% at the subsequent Qatar tournament.
Karan Taurani, executive vice president at investment firm Elara Capital, described television as a “struggling” medium in India. “When it comes to sporting events of this nature, it's mostly the digital platform which monetises and gets a lot of money,” Taurani told Al Jazeera. “That's the big reason nobody was interested in the FIFA World Cup.” Taurani explained that cricket dominates India's sports economy. “Only a small portion of those who watch the Indian Premier League will watch the FIFA World Cup,” he said, adding that even fewer would stay up past midnight for a match.
Viacom18 paid around $60 million for the rights to the 2022 World Cup, held in Qatar on a far more favourable time zone for Indian audiences. Most games this year will air in the dead of night in India due to the time difference, dampening broadcaster interest and complicating FIFA's rights sale efforts.
