As ZEE Entertainment starts on an ambitious eight-year collaboration with FIFA, the broadcaster is counting heavily on football as a long-term development engine for its sports division. With rights to 39 FIFA events between 2026 and 2034, the creation of dedicated sports channels, and a pledge to spend a percentage of football revenue in grassroots development, ZEE is going beyond broadcasting to change India’s football ecosystem.
In this exclusive interview with SportsMint Media, Mr Bavesh Janavlekar, Chief Business Officer, Unite8 Sports, Zee Entertainment Enterprises, discusses the strategic vision behind the landmark FIFA deal, advertiser reaction, subscription trends on ZEE5, monetisation opportunities, and how the company intends to contribute to the growth of Indian football over the next decade.
1. ZEE has committed to an eight-year partnership with FIFA covering 39 events. What made this the right long-term investment, and how does it fit into ZEE’s broader vision for building its sports business?
Our vision has always been to build a diversified sports ecosystem that caters to India’s evolving sports audiences. While cricket remains an integral part of the landscape, we’re seeing growing interest in global football, kabaddi, racquet sports, and other emerging disciplines. Through properties such as the ILT20, the UP Kabaddi League, the World Padel League, India’s tour of Zimbabwe, the recent partnership with Bundesliga and now our long-term partnership with FIFA, we are creating a portfolio that appeals to diverse sporting communities.
The FIFA partnership is a natural extension of that vision. Beyond the FIFA Club World Cup, it gives us the opportunity to engage fans through the FIFA Women’s World Cup, FIFA U-17 and U-20 World Cups, FIFA Futsal World Cups, and the FIFA Intercontinental Cup, enabling us to build sustained engagement over multiple tournament cycles.
Ultimately, this partnership reflects our ambition to establish ZEE5 as a year-round destination for premium global sports while complementing our broader entertainment ecosystem.
2. What convinced ZEE to invest in the entire FIFA ecosystem, including the Men’s and Women’s World Cups, youth tournaments and futsal—rather than focusing solely on the marquee events?
At ZEE, we have always believed in putting audiences first. Consumer preferences today are evolving rapidly, with fans looking to engage with the sports and teams they love throughout the year rather than only during marquee events. We wanted to stay ahead of that shift by bringing viewers the complete FIFA experience.
By securing rights across the entire FIFA portfolio, we are able to offer fans a richer and more immersive football journey while creating sustained engagement across multiple tournament cycles. For us, this is about building a year-round football destination that delivers long-term value for audiences, advertisers, and partners, while strengthening our overall sports ecosystem.
3. Given the relatively short window between announcing the rights and the FIFA World Cup, how has the response from advertisers been? Have brands embraced the property as quickly as you had anticipated?
The response has been extremely encouraging. While the announcement-to-launch window was relatively short, we have seen strong confidence from advertisers who recognise the value of premium global football and the highly engaged audiences it attracts. Brands across categories, including Lenovo, Ceat, Jaguar Land Rover, Adidas, Zydus, and JBL, have come on board, reflecting the growing commercial appeal of the tournament.
Equally encouraging has been the audience response, with more than 100 million viewers engaging with the FIFA World Cup across ZEE platforms during the opening weekend and our broader sports portfolio reaching over 300 million viewers. Together, these trends reinforce our belief that advertisers today are looking beyond pure reach and increasingly value audience affinity, engagement, and contextual relevance. Football is increasingly establishing itself as a premium commercial platform where brands can build deeper, more contextual consumer connections.
4. The ₹799 FIFA package on ZEE5 has generated considerable discussion among football fans. What has the consumer response been so far, and are subscriber acquisition and engagement tracking in line with your expectations?
The consumer response has been very encouraging. Ahead of the tournament, we introduced the FIFA packs, including an early bird offer to make premium football more accessible while also giving subscribers access to ZEE5’s entire catalogue of movies, originals, TV shows, and regional content.
As with any major product launch, we received initial feedback around the introductory plans, which we addressed quickly through clearer communication and consumer outreach. More importantly, the audience response has been extremely positive. During the opening weekend alone, more than 100 million viewers engaged with the FIFA Club World Cup across ZEE platforms, while our broader sports portfolio reached over 300 million viewers, contributing to Z’s network share touching 20%.
These trends reinforce that audiences are embracing premium global football on our platforms. Our larger objective is to use live sports as a gateway to the wider ZEE5 ecosystem, encouraging long-term content discovery and sustained engagement well beyond a single tournament.
5. With dedicated sports channels being launched for FIFA, what investments is ZEE making in production quality, regional-language feeds, studio programming and digital experiences to deliver a differentiated viewing experience?
Our focus has been on delivering a viewing experience that goes far beyond the live match. We’ve invested across production, technology, and content to ensure fans enjoy a seamless, high-quality experience across television and ZEE5.
From a content perspective, we’re offering multilingual coverage in Hindi, English, Bangla, and Malayalam, complemented by expert-led studio programming featuring renowned voices such as Bhaichung Bhutia, Robbie Fowler, Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, I.M. Vijayan, Robin Singh, Paul Masefield, Seema Jaswal, and Rajat Ghosh-Dastidar. We’re also engaging younger audiences through creator collaborations, including Ashish Chanchlani, while our ‘Poora India Watchega’ campaign reinforces football’s ability to bring fans together across regions and communities.
On the technology front, we’ve also strengthened our streaming infrastructure to support high concurrent viewership while delivering a seamless experience across devices. Together, these investments reflect our commitment to making the FIFA World Cup a truly immersive and accessible experience for football fans across India.
6. How important is ZEE5 to your long-term football strategy, particularly when it comes to attracting younger, mobile-first audiences and converting them into long-term subscribers? And the sports broadcasting landscape in India is highly competitive. How does acquiring FIFA rights strengthen ZEE’s position, and what differentiates your approach from other broadcasters and streaming platforms?
Today’s audiences, particularly younger and mobile-first consumers, expect flexible, immersive, and multilingual viewing experiences that extend beyond the live match. Our objective is not only to bring them premium football but also to introduce them to the wider ZEE5 ecosystem through access to our extensive catalogue of movies, originals, TV shows, and regional content.
Our differentiator lies in building an integrated sports ecosystem rather than investing in isolated sporting events. Our eight-year partnership with FIFA enables us to engage fans across multiple global tournaments, while our broader sports portfolio including the ILT20, the UP Kabaddi League, the World Padel League, and India’s tour of Zimbabwe allows us to cater to diverse sporting communities throughout the year.
Combined with our integrated television and digital ecosystem, multilingual coverage, expert-led programming, creator collaborations, and a strong focus on fan engagement, our ambition is to build lasting sports communities and create long-term value for audiences, advertisers, and partners alike.
7. ZEE has committed to reinvesting a portion of the revenues generated from the FIFA partnership into Indian football. Could you elaborate on how this model will work? Will these initiatives be undertaken independently or in collaboration with FIFA, the AIFF, state associations and grassroots academies?
We believe broadcasting is only one part of growing football in India. Investing in its future is equally important. That’s why we have committed to earmarking 15% of ZEE5’s football-related subscription revenues towards identifying, training, and nurturing young football talent across the country. Our vision is to help build a structured grassroots ecosystem by supporting talent development through training initiatives and competitive pathways at the city, district, state, and national levels.
We also believe that meaningful progress requires collaboration, and we look forward to working closely with the broader football ecosystem, including governing bodies, associations, academies, and other stakeholders, to maximise the long-term impact of this initiative. Ultimately, the objective is to ensure that every football fan on ZEE5 is not only enjoying the sport but also contributing to the growth of Indian football and helping nurture the next generation of talent.
8. By the time this partnership concludes in 2034, what would success look like for ZEE, not just in terms of revenue and audience growth, but also in terms of football’s development and commercial evolution in India?
Success for us will be measured by far more than viewership or commercial outcomes. We hope this partnership contributes to building a stronger football culture in India, one where the sport reaches newer audiences, inspires greater participation, and creates long-term opportunities for players, fans, and the wider football ecosystem.
We want ZEE to be recognised as a destination for premium global sports, with a sustainable ecosystem that delivers value for audiences, advertisers, and partners alike. Through our long-term association with FIFA, our commitment to grassroots football development, and continued investment in fan experiences, our ambition is to help grow both the cultural and commercial relevance of football in India. Ultimately, if by 2034 we’ve played a meaningful role in making football more accessible, more engaging, and more deeply rooted in the lives of Indian audiences, while building a thriving sports ecosystem that extends well beyond a single tournament, we would consider that a success.
