New Delhi, Aug 30 : Disney Star and ZEE on Tuesday announced they have signed an agreement to sublicense the media rights recently granted of the International Cricket Council (ICC).According to the contract, ZEE will be broadcasting all men’s and under-19 cricket games on its TV channels, while Star will keep only the rights to digital content.The contract for strategic licensing, which is the first of its kind in the Indian broadcasting of sports on the media it will last for four years, beginning in 2024 with Star remaining to broadcast matches via its platform for digital media, Hotstar.
“The collaboration with Disney Star reflects our innovative, strategic approach to the business of sports in India.As a one-stop destination for television for ICC cricket matches for men through 2027, ZEE will leverage the strengths of its platform to provide an engaging experience for its viewers and an excellent return on investment to advertisers.” stated Punit Goenka MD and CEO of ZEE Entertainment Enterprises Ltd.
In a joint announcement from Disney Star and ZEE, ZEE and Disney Star, the International Cricket Council (ICC) has, in principle, approved the arrangement.
The statement further stated that the agreement allows ZEE to become the sole rights holder for television of ICC events for men such as the highly-coveted ICC Men’s T20 World Cup (2024 2026), ICC Men’s Champions Trophy (2025) as well as the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup (2027) together with crucial ICC U-19 tournaments.
On the other side, K.Madhavan, the country manager and president of Disney Star, said that they have an enlightened and balanced cricket program for our viewers across digital and linear.
“By getting the IPL broadcast rights for television for 2023-27, and then opting to keep solely the rights to digital for ICC tournaments in 2024-27, we’ve put in place an inclusive and balanced cricket program for our fans both digital and linear,” said Madhavan.
“Over time, Disney Star has strengthened the appeal of international cricket in India and has enabled it to reach a variety of demographics and age groups across all regions of India.
As the country’s most renowned media house we’ll continue to expand our reach with our impressive portfolio of cricket properties on digital and TV,” he added.
In addition to securing the ICC digital rights over the next four years Disney Star currently also has the rights to television for IPL (2023-27) Television as well as digital rights for Cricket Australia (2023-2030), television and digital BCCI rights (2023) and rights to television and digital for Cricket South Africa (end of 2023-2024).).
Alongside cricket, it has properties such as Pro Kabaddi League, Indian Super League as well as the Wimbledon Championship and the English Premier League on its platforms.
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