Zee Entertainment has informed the Way Disney Company that it does not intend to progress with $1.4 million deal to purchase the cricket TV rights that it acquired from the U.S firm, as indicated by reports.
In August 2023, Zee informed stock exchanges across India that it had signed a licensing agreement with Disney to obtain International Cricket Council (ICC) TV rights for a period of four years, starting 2024 from its U.S firm that continued to retain the streaming rights.
Read More: Punit Goenka addresses Zee employees; ensures no layoffs
As per the agreement, Disney Star would have licensed the TV broadcasting rights of the International Cricket Council (ICC) Men’s and under-19 global events for a four-year period to Zee. Disney Star would continue to have exclusive digital rights for its digital platform (Disney+ Hotstar). Zee would make staggered annual payments from CY24 onwards.
Disney Star had won the rights to telecast the ICC tournaments till 2027 for $3 billion after a closed-loop bid process.
That deal included both digital and television rights for men’s and women’s ICC tournaments. It was a big plus for Disney Star, which had lost the digital rights of the Indian Premier League (IPL) for the 2023-27 cycle to Viacom18 in June.
Read More: ZEE’s Punit Goenka: Maybe Sony ran out of patience
The agreement with Disney Star enables Zee to be the exclusive television rights holder of ICC men’s events, including the coveted ICC Men’s T20 World Cup (2024, 2026), ICC Men’s Champions Trophy (2025), and the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup (2027), along with key ICC U-19 events.
Storyboard18 reported earlier that if Zee fails to hold up their end of the deal, Disney Star is likely to take them to court. As per reports, Zee had earlier acquired the ICC TV rights with the expectation that their merger with Sony would be a no-hassle process. As a result, Disney Star would invest the $1.5 billion as growth capital in the newly formed merged company.