ZEE forays into big sports with Disney Star licensing deal to broadcast ICC cricket
ZEE forays into big sports with Disney Star licensing deal to broadcast ICC cricket: The entertainment conglomerate Disney Star and the entertainment company Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd. (ZEEL) have entered into a licensing agreement that will allow Disney Star to broadcast men’s and under-19 cricket tournaments from the International Cricket Council (ICC) for the next four years.
Zee’s sports networks will be airing live coverage of the next Twenty20 World Cups in 2024 and 2026, as well as the Cricket World Cup in 2027 and the Champions Trophy in 2025. The competitions will continue to be broadcast on Disney Star, the company’s streaming platform, known as Disney+ Hotstar.
The International Cricket Council (ICC), the governing body of cricket, has given its blessing, at least in principle, to the broadcast license contract.
Press release talk
“Our keen, strategic vision for the sports market in India is reflected in our relationship with Disney Star, which bears their name. 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 while serving as a one-stop television destination for ICC men’s cricket events until 2027. ZEE will continue to serve in this capacity until 2027 “In a press release, Managing Director and CEO of ZEEL Punit Goenka made the following statement.
In addition, Punit stated that “long-term profitability and value-generation continue to be our areas of focus across the organization.”
This new approach comes at a time when sports, and particularly cricket, are becoming an increasingly crucial component in the process of acquiring and retaining viewers across digital and broadcasting platforms. Viacom18, which is controlled by Reliance Industries, was able to obtain the digital rights to the competitive Indian Premier League (IPL) auction, which was hailed as a major victory for the company. It is anticipated that the corporation will achieve the same level of success with its streaming platform Voot as Disney+ Hotstar did over the course of the previous five years.
Statement
According to Abneesh Roy, Executive Director of Edelweiss Financial Service, which is an investing and financial services organization, the licencing deal will also assist ZEE to attract more advertisers and channel subscriptions. ZEE is an Indian online television network.
According to Abneesh, who spoke to YourStory about the matter, “with the help of this deal, Zee gets to enter into the missing link in its content offering—sports.”
ZEE is the current owner of the rights to the United Arab Emirates Twenty20 league, which is a far less significant tournament than the Indian Premier League.
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