Zee in Talks With FIFA for World Cup 2026 Rights, launches four new s…

India may finally have a broadcaster for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, with Zee Entertainment confirming that it is in talks with FIFA for the media rights in the country. The development comes barely weeks before the tournament kicks off on June 11, with no official broadcaster yet announced for the Indian market.

Zee on Tuesday unveiled a new sports network under the banner “Unite8 Sports”, launching four linear channels: Unite8 Sports 1 and Unite8 Sports 1 HD in Hindi, alongside Unite8 Sports 2 and Unite8 Sports 2 HD in English. The company said the channels will focus on a range of sporting properties, including football, cricket, kabaddi, badminton, wrestling, and combat sports. cricket-info.homes

The move has intensified speculation that Zee could emerge as FIFA’s broadcast partner for India after negotiations between the Reliance Industries-The Walt Disney Company joint venture reportedly failed to reach an agreement. Reliance-Disney, which operates JioHotstar, is understood to have offered around $20 million for the rights, a figure significantly below FIFA’s expectations.

FIFA had initially sought nearly $100 million for the combined India rights of the 2026 and 2030 World Cups. However, with the tournament being hosted across the United States, Canada, and Mexico, concerns over late-night match timings for Indian audiences appear to have impacted the valuation. Reports suggest FIFA later reduced its expectations and was looking for a minimum of around $60 million.

Sony Pictures Networks India had also held discussions with FIFA but eventually decided against submitting a formal bid.

The uncertainty around the World Cup rights had raised concerns among football fans in India, especially given the tournament’s strong television footprint in the country. India accounted for nearly 2.9 percent of the global linear television reach during the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

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Zee’s sports business will be headed by Bavesh Janavlekar. Speaking during the launch, he said sports consumption in India is growing rapidly and there is increasing demand for live sporting content across different regions and languages.

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Paris [France], May 27 (ANI): Jannik Sinner’s French Open 2026 campaign got off to a positive strat as the world No. 1 delivered a dominant straight-sets win over France’s Clement Tabur on Wednesday (as per the Indian Standard Time).

Sinner defeated Tabur 6-1, 6-3, 6-4 in the opening round.

In his first-ever meeting with world No. 171 Clement Tabur, Sinner dominated from the baseline, hitting 40 winners and not facing a single break point, according to the ATP website.

Sinner, a four-time Grand Slam champion, will face Juan Manuel Cerundolo in the second round of the French Open. Cerundolo reached the round after defeating Jacob Fearnley 6-2, 7-6(0), 7-6(7).

Speaking after the match, Sinner said he was happy to return to a special venue where he has strong memories. He noted that first-round matches are always tough, but said it was especially meaningful to begin his campaign in a night session, thanking fans for staying to watch.

Notably, the Sinner vs Tabur match was played in a night session local time in France.

“I’m very happy to be back here. It’s a very special place and I have great memories overall. First-round matches are never easy, but it’s even more special to start the tournament during a night session, so thank you all for staying out," Sinner said in his on-court interview as quoted by the ATP website.

Jannik Sinner is currently on a 30-match winning streak after capturing all five ATP Masters 1000 titles this season–Indian Wells, Miami, Monte-Carlo, Madrid and Rome. With his victory in Rome nine days ago, he became only the second man, and the youngest after Novak Djokovic, to complete the Career Golden Masters. (ANI)

(This content is sourced from a syndicated feed and is published as received. The Tribune assumes no responsibility or liability for its accuracy, completeness, or content.)

The fireworks and light show in the innings break during the Royal Challengers Bengaluru's (RCB) Qualifier 1 game against the Gujarat Titans (GT) caused a bit of a stir when the lights displayed the wrong Indian map.

The mid-innings programme lasted for about 25 minutes after the first 20 overs, where RCB went on to score 254 runs, after skipper Rajat Patidar hit a jaw-dropping 93 not out of just 33 balls.

Amongst all the fancy displays and musical performances, the organisers messed up the Indian maps projected with lasers. The map had major sections that were portrayed incorrectly or were missing completely. For instance, various states, including Uttar Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Bihar and most of India’s Seven Sisters, were not shown properly.

The fans were rightfully disappointed to learn that an Indian league was not paying attention to the map of the country that it represents on the world stage.

Despite the unfortunate incident which happened during the mid-innings show, fans enjoyed a good cricket match that ultimately ended with RCB reaching their second consecutive Indian Premier League (IPL) final. After posting a mammoth 254 in the first innings, GT were bundled out for a mere 162, falling 92 runs short in the process.

While Patidar was the star with the bat, the entire bowling unit put in work to help the defending champions reach the showpiece final in Ahmedabad. Jacob Duffy was the pick of the bowlers, taking three wickets, which included the crucial scalp of Sai Sudharsan. Meanwhile, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Rasikh Salam and Krunal Pandya all chipped in with two wickets each. Josh Hazlewood, on the other hand, only took one wicket, but that was the all-important dismissal of GT captain Shubman Gill.

The Titans will now wait for the winner of the game between Sunrisers Hyderabad and Rajasthan Royals to play in Qualifier 2 for a chance to play the final on May 31.