Star India Ends ICC Rights Deal with ZEE Amid Contract Dispute

The development came in after Star India, a Disney-owned company, ended its exclusivity agreement with Zee Entertainment Enterprises (ZEE) on June 20. Star had sublicensed the linear TV rights of the ICC Men’s tournament to ZEE for the 2024-2027 cycle, which is now dissolved with prima facie evidence of contractual breaches.

ZEE said that Star India terminated the agreement with it by alleging a breach of contract. The agreement dated August 26, 2022, named ZEE as one of the principal broadcasters for all key ICC events, which included the ICC Men’s T20 World Cups and the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup.

The termination comes after Star India invoked the arbitration process in March, in which the company called for either specific performance of the agreement with ZEE or compensation on account of damages, which were not specified. ZEE has further disclosed that Star India is seeking compensation through the ongoing arbitration process, the quantum of which is yet to be determined.

“In the past one year, Star had issued letters to ZEE alleging breach of the Alliance Agreement on account of non-payment of dues towards the first instalment of the rights fee aggregating to $203.56 million, (Rs 1,693.42 crore), the payment for bank guarantee commission and deposit interest aggregating Rs 17 crore and financial commitments, including furnishing of corporate guarantee/confirmation as per the agreement, ZEE said in its disclosure”.

“The management believes, based on legal advice, that Star has not acted in accordance with the Alliance Agreement, and has failed to obtain necessary approvals and execute necessary documentation and agreements,” the company added.

ZEE has countered that Star India’s act amounts to a breach of the contract. Bank guarantee commissions and interest expenses of Rs 72.14 crore incurred by the company have resulted in seeking a refund of Rs 68.54 crore from Star India.

Star India grabbed the media rights for ICC tournaments for the 2024-2027 cycle for USD 3.03 billion in August 2022 and, subsequently, sub-licensed the linear TV rights to ZEE, a rival network.

The terminated agreement would have granted Zee exclusive television rights for some of the major ICC men’s events, including two ICC Men’s T20 World Cups in 2024 and 2026, ICC Men’s Champions Trophy 2025, ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2027, and some of the key ICC U-19 events.