Zee Entertainment signs a licensing pact with Disney Hotstar to acquire Cricket's governing body TV rights

Zee Entertainment now hold the TV rights while Disney Hostar hold the digital rights of Cricket's governing body until 2027 (Image Source: Twitter)

Zee Entertainment has come into a licensing pact with Disney Hotstar and it will be the former will now telecast the matches of the Cricket's governing body. This has enabled Disney Hotstar to license their TV Broadcasting rights to Zee Entertainment for all Cricket's governing body men's and U19s games. With his agreement, Zee has become the right holder to telecast all matches like Men's T20 World Cup 2024, 2026, the Men's Champions Trophy 2025, and the Men's Cricket World Cup 2027.

Zee got the TV rights and Disney got the digital rights of ICC from 2024-27. (Source - Economic Times)

— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) August 30, 2022

However, Disney Hotstar will be the official live streaming partner for all matches of the Cricket's governing body. The company acquired the TV and Digital Rights for around a whopping $3 billion which shocked the entire media world. The CEO of Zee Entertainment, Punit Goenka said that it was a strategic move to expand the sports business in India and added that this would enable both companies to grow. He expressed his excitement for the same and assured fans of quality coverage of all matches.

"This is a first-of-its-kind partnership in the Indian media & entertainment landscape, and this association with Disney Star reflects our sharp, strategic vision for the 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," he 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," Goenka added.

This live streaming license will give Disney Hostar a big boost after losing their streaming rights to Viacom18 for the Indian T20 League (2023-2027) albeit they retained the television rights.

"By securing the IPL television broadcast rights for 2023-27 and now opting to retain only the digital rights for ICC tournaments for 2024-27, we have in place a balanced and robust cricket offering for our audiences across linear and digital," the country manager and president of Disney Hostar, K Madhavan said.

The Cricket's governing body has reportedly agreed to the partnership. This will be an exciting move as it invites more such partnerships in the future. Fans can expect quality coverage from both companies and rest assured, things are settled for now.