ZEE Entertainment Enterprises and Disney Star said in a joint release that they have agree into a strategic licensing agreement. Disney Star will license the television broadcasting rights of the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) Men’s and Under-19 (U-19) global events for a period of four years to ZEE.
Disney Star will continue to be the exclusive home for streaming of all ICC tournaments through its digital platform, Disney+ Hotstar.
ICC has in-principle approve this arrangement.
It means ZEE to be the exclusive television rights holder of ICC men’s events, including the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup (2024, 2026), ICC Men’s Champions Trophy (2025), and the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup (2027) with key ICC U-19 events.
Punit Goenka, MD & CEO, ZEE Entertainment Enterprises said :
“As a one-stop television destination for ICC men’s cricket events until 2027, ZEE will leverage the strength of its network to offer a compelling experience for its viewers and a great return on investment for its advertisers. Long-term profitability and value-generation continue to be our areas of focus across the business, and we will always evaluate all the necessary steps that will enable us to make sports a compelling value proposition for the company. We look forward to working with ICC and Disney Star, to enable this strategic offering for our television viewers in India.”
K Madhavan, Country Manager & President, Disney Star, said :
“Over the years, Disney Star has strengthened the appeal of international cricket in India, enabling it to reach diverse age groups and cultural demographics across all parts of the country. As India’s leading media house, we will continue to do so with our strong portfolio of cricket properties across television and digital.”
Disney Star’s portfolio also includes the television rights for IPL (2023-27), television and digital rights for Cricket Australia (2023-2030), television and digital BCCI rights (2023) and television and digital rights for Cricket South Africa (end of 2023-2024).
Also, it offers other major sports properties on its platforms including Pro Kabaddi League, Indian Super League, the Wimbledon Championship and the English Premier League.
This is not first time but Sky Sports and BT Sport collaborate to broadcast the Premier League.
In 2019, Sky Sports and BT Sport reach an agreement to sell their title channels on each other’s platforms.
In Indian cricket, as said by ZEE’s MD & CEO Punit Goenka, this is a “first-of-its-kind”.
Punit Goenka Said :
“This is a first-of-its-kind partnership in the Indian media & entertainment landscape, and this association with Disney Star reflects our sharp, strategic vision for the sports business in India. As a one-stop television destination for ICC men’s cricket events until 2027, ZEE will leverage the strength of its network to offer a compelling experience for its viewers and a great return on investment for its advertisers,”.
ICC Events During 2024-27 Cycle
- 2024: Men’s T20 World Cup, Women’s T20 World Cup, U-19 Men’s World Cup
- 2025: Champions Trophy, WTC final, Women’s 50-over World Cup, U-19 Women’s T20 World Cup
- 2026: Men’s T20 World Cup, Women’s T20 World Cup, U-19 Men’s World Cup
- 2027: Men’s 50-over World Cup, WTC final, Women’s T20 Champions Trophy, U-19 Women’s T20 World Cup
After all this Indian cricket fans now need to subscribe to three TV channels or as many as three OTT platforms to follow the game of cricket.
After Star and Sony, fans need to have ZEE TV channels also.
As for digital viewing, Hotstar, SonyLIV and Voot are the available options.
Star is the broadcast rights holder (TV and digital) for international fixtures in India and also domestic cricket.
Star has retain the TV rights for the IPL as well besides taking over the Australian rights from Sony from 2023.
Sony (TV channels and SonyLIV) has renew its media rights deal with the England and Wales Cricket Board.
Voot would be the platform to watch the IPL matches from the next year onwards.
A strategic alliance between Disney Star and ZEE Entertainment Enterprises Ltd. enter will give cricket fans more options as regards to watching the ICC men’s events for the 2024-2027 cycle.
Those who would prefer to watch games online, Hotstar would be their go-to digital platform for the men’s T20 World Cups in 2024 and 2026, the Champions Trophy in 2025 and the men’s 50-over World Cup in 2027.
For TV nerds, they can watch all this on ZEE channels now.
This came just days after Star winning the TV and digital rights for both men’s and women’s global events from 2024 to 2027.
The IPL media rights for the 2023-2027 cycle with Star bagging the TV rights and Viacom18/Reliance sweeping the digital segment.
Between 2024 and 2027, the ICC men’s calendar will have two T20 World Cups, two World Test Championship finals, a Champions Trophy and a 50-over World Cup.
The women’s events include two T20 World Cups, a 50-over World Cup and a T20 Champions Trophy.
And the U-19 events, the roster includes two men’s World Cups and a couple of women’s T20 World Cups.
