The FIFA world cup is one of the most watched sports events in the world with a viewership of 5 billion. For the World Cup 2022, India was among the top 10 television markets worldwide, with nearly 83.5 million viewers. The ad revenue and subscriber acquisition opportunity is high.
However, matches are to be streamed late in the night, as they will be played in the US. This is likely to reduce viewership.Cricket has many natural ad breaks, unlike football, where the ad potential is limited due to two contiuous halves of 45 minutes each of gameplay.
Zee Ent, in an exchange filing on Tuesday, said it will enhance its presence across sports broadcasting with the launch of Unite8 Sports channels — a dedicated portfolio of sports channels that will encompass emerging formats, marquee properties and high-engagement content.Zee Ent said it will launch four dedicated sports channels — Unite8 Sports 1, Unite8 Sports 1 HD in Hindi and Unite8 Sports 2, Unite8 Sports 2 HD in English.
The channels will broadcast sports including football, kabaddi, cricket, badminton, wrestling, boxing and combat sports, among others.
“Building a robust presence in the linear ecosystem with four channels aligns with our broader strategy of diversifying the content portfolio and building scalable, value-accretive businesses that capitalize on emerging growth opportunities,” Bavesh Janavlekar, chief business officer – Unite8 Sports, Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd., said.
It added that it was also in talks with FIFA to broadcast and streamline the world cup matches in India.
Zee Ent shares gained 11.7% to hit an intraday-high of ₹92.5 apiece on Wednesday.
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First Published: May 27, 2026 12:58 PM IS
