The broadcast rights for the ICC women’s events for the Indian market – both TV and digital – remain with Disney Star.
In a media release issued on Tuesday, Disney Star and Zee said the ICC had given an “in-principle” approval to their agreement. On August 26, Disney Star had won the entire ICC rights – both TV and digital – for four years for the Indian market by beating competition from Zee, Sony and Viacom. There are four men’s marquee events in the 2024-27 period, including two T20 World Cups (2024 and 2026), the 2025 Champions Trophy and the 2027 ODI World Cup.
K Madhavan, country manager and president at Disney Star, said “opting to retain only the digital rights” for ICC tournaments for 2024-27, in addition to securing the IPL television rights (2023-27) has allowed the broadcaster to put “in place a balanced and robust cricket offering for our audiences across linear and digital.” Zee’s chief executive officer and managing director Punit Goenka said the agreement reflected a “sharp, strategic vision” for conducting 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,” Goenka said. “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.”
More to follow …
Disney Star and ESPNcricinfo are part of the Walt Disney Company.
Nagraj Gollapudi is news editor at ESPNcricinfo
Source: ESPN Crickinfo