By Utkarsh Rathour

New Delhi [India], June 9 (ANI): FIFA will serve as the anchor intellectual property (IP) around which ZEE5 and Unite8 Sports plan to build a sports portfolio, helping the platform strengthen its position in India's sports market and deepen engagement with younger, digital-first audiences, according to Bavesh Janavlekar, Chief Business Officer, Unite8 Sports, ZEE5 Entertainment Enterprises.

Earlier this month, ZEE Entertainment Enterprises announced that it had secured the exclusive Indian television and digital rights to 39 FIFA tournaments scheduled between 2026 and 2034, including the FIFA World Cup 2026, FIFA World Cup 2030 and FIFA Women's World Cup 2027.

The 2026 FIFA World Cup will be held from June 11 to July 19 across the United States, Canada and Mexico, with a record 48 teams set to compete for football's biggest prize.

Speaking to ANI on the business significance of securing FIFA rights, Janavlekar said the acquisition marks a defining step in building a long-term and future-ready sports ecosystem for ZEE5 and Unite8 Sports.

Bavesh Janavlekar said the global appeal of FIFA competitions would play a crucial role in strengthening the company's sports offerings and enhancing its presence in the rapidly evolving sports entertainment landscape.

According to Bavesh, the FIFA rights acquisition is expected to help ZEE5 position itself as a premium sports entertainment destination while attracting football fans and expanding its reach among digitally engaged viewers.

'What FIFA does is that it acts as an anchor IP for us to structure our entire sports portfolio around. And with this, we achieve a lot of things in terms of kind of positioning ourselves at the helm of sports in India. And it is a defining step in building a long-term and future-ready sports ecosystem for ZEE5 and Unite8 Sports. It also establishes us as a premium sports entertainment platform while helping us deepen our connection with younger and digital-first audiences in India,' Bavesh said.

The deal, which marks the first collaboration between ZEE and FIFA, also includes a wide range of men's and women's youth competitions, futsal tournaments and documentary content linked to the events.

Among the properties covered are the FIFA Men's and Women's U-17 World Cups, FIFA U-20 Men's and Women's World Cups, FIFA Futsal Men's and Women's World Cups, and the FIFA Intercontinental Cup through 2030.

Coverage of the tournaments is set to begin on June 11 with the opening match of the FIFA World Cup 2026. Matches will be aired on four newly launched sports channels -- Unite8 Sports 1 and Unite8 Sports 1 HD in Hindi, and Unite8 Sports 2 and Unite8 Sports 2 HD in English -- while live streaming will be available on ZEE's digital platform, ZEE5.

Bavesh reflected that India may be a cricket-dominated nation, but football already enjoys the second-largest fan base and viewership in the country.

'You are right with the cricket point. But after cricket, football has the largest viewership in India. And the fan size is also one of the largest after cricket. What happens is that, you know, FIFA, when we started off kind of engaging with them for the World Cup, you see that we have rights not only for 26 (2026) but also for 30 (2030) with affiliated events going up to 2034. Actually, an eight-year commitment and partnership between FIFA, ZEE5 and Unite8 Sports,' Janavlekar told ANI.

He said the partnership is designed to be developmental rather than purely commercial, with a focus on building football's ecosystem in the country.

'The approach has always been not to be transactional on this particular property, but to try to build the sport of football along with FIFA in this country. So there's a lot of building which is involved. It's not only showing, but there's a lot of building which is involved in this partnership. So we are going to have the best of their support and their insights into what we can do in India to kind of develop football in India from the grassroots level,' he added.

Janavlekar also pointed to India's recent success across multiple sporting disciplines, including badminton, chess, hockey, wrestling and combat sports, saying the country's broader sports development model could be replicated in football with support from FIFA.

'In India, I think in the last few years, there has been a big change in terms of recreating world-class athletes across different sports. So we have, you know, champions in badminton, we have champions in chess. Hockey has always been consistently, you know, in the top five countries. Consistently winning medals in wrestling and in combat sports. Women have done well. So this particular approach of building sports across multiple sports works for us, and FIFA actually lends a lot of momentum for us to kind of embark on that particular track,' he said.

Janavlekar said the company's immediate focus is to deliver world-class coverage of FIFA events while creating additional content that enhances the viewing experience.

'Through ZEE5, Unite8 Sports viewers can definitely expect high-quality live coverage. That's our primary objective. It's a world-class product, and we intend to deliver it to our audiences in the same world-class way. And the focus has been on kind of developing, you know, not only showing but also developing content around it, which is world-class,' Janavlekar said.

He added that the platform aims to cater not only to dedicated football followers but also to casual viewers who may be drawn to the scale of the tournament.

'Our focus will be on delivering a comprehensive and immersive experience for not only the football fanatics but also for the ones who are on the peripheries and would want to kind of be a part of this spectacle, which is going to be one of the largest, longest World Cups in the history of FIFA,' he said.

Discussing the business impact of securing FIFA rights, Janavlekar described the FIFA World Cup as one of the world's premier sporting properties with the ability to attract audiences across regions and cultures.

'I think the FIFA World Cup is an obvious one; it's one of the largest, greatest shows and properties on earth. And it is a property which transcends geographies and cultures. And there are 48 countries which are participating in this particular edition. A marquee event like this on this scale creates a very strong funnel for us by bringing in large audiences onto our platform, including new, younger, digital-first consumers, who should be engaging and experiencing our platform for the first time,' he said.

Janavlekar said the company plans to leverage the influx of new viewers by introducing them to a broader range of entertainment and sports offerings available on the platform.

'We intend to kind of, you know, leverage this particular new set of viewers, which will be coming on the platform and engaging with what we have in terms of multiple offerings across our entertainment catalogue, but also more national and international sporting properties coming on board,' he added. (ANI)