New Delhi: In March, Zee Entertainment decided to revise its entertainment offerings on linear TV and shifted it to the sports genre. In the Reference Interconnect Offer (RIO) that followed, the planned sports channels were pitted against Star and Sony Sports channels in a competitive set.Most recently, Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited (ZEEL) has filed a trademark application for Unite8 Sports – its own sports offering.According to reports, the company is going to launch seven channels under this bookie: Unite8 Sports, Unite8 Sports 1, Unite8 Sports 2, Unite8 Sports 1 HD, Unite8 Sports 1 HD Hindi, Unite8 Sports 2 HD and Unite8 Sports 2 HD Hindi.The timing of these moves comes at a time when No official broadcaster has been named for India for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.Which is starting from June 11. Interested parties and FIFA could not reach an agreement on pricing for the event, which will be played in the US, Canada and Mexico — when most of India is sleeping.The prospect of losing out on the big market forced the governing body to send its executives to India to negotiate in person.FIFA was initially seeking $100 million from the deal but is agreeing to go up to $60 million – reportedly the same figure for which the rights in China were sold to China Media Group last week.However, the Reliance-Disney joint venture JioStar valued FIFA rights for the upcoming 48-team competition at $20 million, which is not acceptable to FIFA.ZEEL had announced its intention to re-enter the sports broadcasting sector last year – eight years after divesting its channels to Colormax Entertainment Pvt Ltd (the corporate name of Sony Pictures Networks India).ZEEL first forayed into sports broadcasting in 2005 with Zee Sports. It expanded by acquiring Ten Sports a year later. ZEEL Deputy CEO and CFO Mukund Gilgal had said last year, “We intend to re-enter this space with a clear emphasis on profitability. We do not intend to simply acquire high-value properties for high-end development; rather, we will take a deliberate approach in selecting sports rights.”ZEEL already has the exclusive broadcast rights of the UAE-based International League T20 (ILT20) competition.
