Ten days out from the 2026 FIFA World Cup, and FIFA was still scrambling to lock down one of its most important broadcast markets. That changed on Monday morning.
India won't have a team on the field this summer, but its audience is too big to leave on the sideline. During the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, over 110 million viewers consumed tournament content digitally in India, making it one of the strongest digital markets in the world for the sport.
A blackout there wouldn't just hurt viewership numbers. It would have raised serious concerns among FIFA's global sponsors heading into the biggest tournament in football.
The deal got done just in time.
Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images
FIFA and Zee Sign Long-Term India Broadcasting Rights Deal
FIFA announced a long-term media partnership with 'Z' on Monday, covering broadcast and distribution rights for a wide range of FIFA competitions across India from 2026 through 2034. The agreement covers some of the biggest events on the calendar, including the FIFA World Cup 2026, the FIFA Women's World Cup 2027 and the FIFA World Cup 2030.
Beyond the flagship tournaments, 'Z' will carry 39 FIFA events in total, spanning men's, women's and youth football. That includes the FIFA U-17 World Cup, FIFA U-20 World Cup, FIFA Women's U-17 World Cup, FIFA Women's U-20 World Cup, FIFA Futsal World Cups and the FIFA Intercontinental Cup.
Documentary programming tied to these competitions is part of the package as well. Coverage will air on UNITE8 Sports and stream on Zee5 across multiple language feeds.
Financial terms were not disclosed. Reuters had previously reported FIFA was originally targeting around $100 million for India media rights covering the 2026 and 2030 World Cups before that figure came down to $60 million during negotiations.
JioStar, the Reliance-Disney joint venture that carried the 2022 World Cup through its predecessor Viacom18, was among the interested parties and reportedly submitted an offer of around $20 million. FIFA passed on it. Sony, which held Indian broadcast rights for the 2014 and 2018 editions, also held discussions but never put in a formal bid.
With the deal now signed, Indian fans will have full access to the 2026 World Cup when it kicks off across the United States, Canada and Mexico.
