Viewership and subscriber-based revenues were expected to be the most important monetization driver for the FIFA rights package, as per experts | Photo Credit: Dado Ruvic

Zee Entertainment’s streaming platform Z5 users doubled in just two weeks since the start of FIFA World Cup 2026 bringing the total weekly active users (WAUs) to 27 million, as per a CLSA report.

“Zee’s surge in Z5 and viewership will help capture revenues to also offset rights costs estimated at under $60 million for eight years adding upside to our growth forecasts,” said the CLSA research note, noting a strong start to the World Cup with more than 100 million viewers over the opening weekend, across its digital, linear and social platforms.

This includes hosting millions of concurrent users over the same weekend, with a notable increase in platform engagement as users consumed the live action, highlights and studio programming.

Despite placing the World Cup as premium content, with a separate subscription package, Z5 has also become the most download OTT in the past two weeks. The platform offers premium pricing packages for the FIFA viewing, starting at ₹799 for three months and ₹1,699 on an annual basis.

Viewership and subscriber-based revenues were expected to be the most important monetization driver for the FIFA rights package, as per experts. Even though the company acquired an eight-year content rights with FIFA through 2034 including 39 major events, and the 2026, 2030 Men’s World Cups and 2027 Women’s World Cup, Zee bagged the deal around 40-50 per cent lower than the previous cycle.

Assuming an effective blended ARPU of around ₹400 per subscriber across monthly and annual plans, ZEEL would need to add approximately 2.5-3 millon incremental subscribers to recover an annualized rights cost of roughly ₹1.5 billion, said Elara Securities.

Published on June 23, 2026