Shares of Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd rallied over 6% in afternoon trade on Monday, June 1, after the media giant announced that it is partnering with FIFA to bring 39 global football events including the FIFA World Cup 2026, FIFA World Cup 2030 and FIFA Women's World Cup 2027 for Indian fans. The stock defied the sluggish trend in the domestic stock market.
As part of the deal, Zee will launch four dedicated sports channels aimed at expanding football's reach among Indian audiences. "Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd. (‘Z') is implementing firm steps to further enhance its presence across the sports broadcasting ecosystem by announcing the launch of Unite8 Sports," the company confirmed in an exchange filing on Tuesday.
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Shares of Zee Entertainment opened at Rs 94.10 against a previous close of Rs 93.11. The stock extended gains and soared 6% to hit an intraday high of Rs 99.80 apiece on the NSE. Shares last traded 4.54% higher at Rs 97.29 apiece on the NSE. The stock has surged 18.36% in one week, 9% in one month, and 8% on a year-to-date basis. In the last one year, the scrip has declined 25%, as per stock exchange data. The company commands a market cap of Rs 9,329.53 crore.
As part of its brand new offering in the sports broadcasting segment, ZEE will launch Unite8 Sports 1, Unite8 Sports 1 HD in Hindi and Unite8 Sports 2, Unite8 Sports 2 HD in English. All these channels will cater to sports content. "The channels will offer the best of action across football, kabaddi, cricket, badminton, wrestling, boxing and combat sports amongst others," the company said.
Taking a strategic steps forward in building a diversified and value-accretive sports portfolio, the company announced that 'Z' will showcase key FIFA events for eight consecutive years in a row between 2026 to 2034. 'Z' will be home to all key FIFA events and docu-series content, delivering wholesome entertainment and sporting action, announced the media company in its statement.
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Earlier, Zee Entertainment had announced that it will launch four sports channels under the 'Unite8' brand. The football festival will kick-off on June 11, 2026 with exclusive action on Unite8 Sports channels and Zee 5, according to the statement. Earlier, NDTV sources indicated that the deal was valued at approximately $30-35 million but the negotiations were unsuccessful.
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