After staying off the field for close to a decade, Zee Entertainment has decided to re-enter the sports broadcasting and live streaming arena. But instead of engaging in close-quarters combat with the entrenched players, it has decided to play by its own rules. So rather than aggressively bid for high-cost marquee cricket rights, the platform plans to follow a measured and ROI-driven strategy, focusing on selective sports properties, regional leagues and niche tournaments, while integrating sports content across linear television and its digital platform, ZEE5.
Zigging when others are zagging might feel risky, but it is often the key to standing out and building a loyal audience. “Our focus is on developing the emerging categories in national and regional sports,” says Bavesh Janavlekar, chief channel officer, Marathi movies & head, sports business, Zee Entertainment. “The goal is to create a diversified live-content portfolio with a differentiated positioning.”
Why does Zee feel the time is right? “The fast emergence of new sports categories and the upcoming Commonwealth Games — and most likely the 2036 Olympics, which India is bidding actively to host — justify Zee’s move, but it will have to do more and invest in high-ticket ICC tournaments,” says Prasanth Shanthakumaran, head of sports sector, KPMG India.
There’s a reason for experts to believe the going won’t be smooth. Industry estimates show that the sports broadcasting economy in India topped `18,000 crore in 2025 with cricket commanding over 80% of the pie. Says Binda Dey, CMO, Knight Riders Sports, “Advertisers follow eyeballs, and those are largely on cricket. So pulling brands into non-cricket sports will take time.”
Not everyone supports that view though. “In the emerging sports category, if broadcasters can build far more engagement even with a relatively small but core audience, it can create far more value for the brands,” says Prashant Joglekar, founder, SportsBiznet.
Therein lies the opportunity.
Small can be big
The groundwork started last year. Zee invested in major regional leagues like UP Kabaddi League and Bengal Super League. Zee also brought in its cricket property, The International League T20, a professional T20 cricket league held in the United Arab Emirates. The competition is sanctioned by the Emirates Cricket Board and features six franchise teams.
“Focusing on regional audiences with sports like football and kabaddi will help create opportunities for regional and domestic brands to get some eyeballs,” says Ajimon Francis, managing director, Brand Finance India. Such brands might not be able to fight for bigger — read cricketing — properties on sheer firepower. On the other hand, sports like kabaddi and football have a dedicated followership in India.
The Pro Kabaddi League continued to be the top non-cricket league, with Season 11 (2025) maintaining high viewership of more than 200 million. In a recent interaction with the media, Sony Sports Network — which holds exclusive broadcasting rights of football league ISL in India — said nearly 100 million viewers watched football on its sports channels in 2025, underlining the growing appetite for the sport in the country.
That apart, Zee has a strong presence in regional markets with its general entertainment channels and can rely on local partnerships to ensure quick uptake, says Naresh Gupta, chief strategy officer & managing partner, Bang In The Middle.
Zee is also hoping its earlier experience in the sports broadcasting space will come in handy during its second innings on the field. It was a major player in the category through Zee Sports, which was rebranded Ten Sports after the latter’s acquisition in 2006. The Ten Sports network was eventually sold to Sony Pictures Networks India in 2017, marking Zee’s exit from mainstream sports broadcasting.
At that time, Ten Sports had rights for major cricketing tournaments and other sports such as WWE wrestling, soccer events (UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League and French League, among others), tennis (WTA events, ATP events), golf (European Tour, Asian Tour, Ryder Cup and more), athletics (Asian Games, Commonwealth Games), motorsports (MotoGP) and cycling (Tour de France).
“Investing in low-ticket events like kabaddi or football might just be an entry point for Zee to bring brands on board; investing in high-ticket tournaments might still be on their cards,” says Sajal Gupta, CEO, Kiaos Marketing.
Industry insiders say with JioHotstar looking to renegotiate or exit its $3-billion ICC media rights deal due to mounting financial losses, this might be just the time for Zee to stage a comeback.