The investment is based on an enterprise value of US$ 114 million and is a strategic move for Zee giving it a strong foothold in the arena of sports broadcasting across Asia and strengthening its operations in the Middle East.
Ten Sports is the leading sports channel in India with the highest viewership amongst sports channels. Ten Sports has rights to leading cricket rights including the Pakistan Cricket Board, Sri Lanka Cricket Board and the West Indies Cricket Board. It also has rights to the UEFA Champions League, WWE, US Open tennis, Hockey World Cup, which rate amongst the most popular programs in India.
Zee Sports holds the Indian Cricket Board’s rights for neutral venues and the addition of Ten Sports portfolio of rights creates the single largest repertoire of cricket programming. Zee Sports also has the rights to Indian football, Davis Cup, WTA, Italian Serie A. We are confident that this will add significant value for the shareholders of Zee.
The deal could have an impact on the bidding for the International Cricket Board’s global TV rights as both broadcasters have submitted separate bids.
