Zee Entertainment has secured exclusive broadcast and digital rights to the Bundesliga in India for the next five years, adding another marquee international football property to its growing sports portfolio.
Starting with the 2026-27 season, matches will stream exclusively on Zee5 and air across Unite8 Sports channels, with coverage spanning live games, highlights, and dedicated programming. The deal builds on Zee’s earlier FIFA partnership, strengthening its position in India’s increasingly competitive football broadcasting space.
Bavesh Janavlekar, Chief Business Officer at Unite8 Sports, pointed to the Bundesliga’s global stars – Harry Kane, Jamal Musiala, Michael Olise and Joshua Kimmich among them – as a major draw for Indian audiences. Beyond broadcast reach, the partnership will also launch the ‘Z’ x Bundesliga Football Week, bringing grassroots clinics and development programmes to young footballers across the country.
Bundesliga Media’s Chief Commercial Officer Peer Naubert framed the deal as more than a licensing transaction, emphasizing the league’s long-standing commitment to sustained local engagement and grassroots investment in Indian football, rather than broadcast reach alone.
The timing reflects real momentum – Bundesliga’s Indian fan base has grown over 50% in the past four seasons, and the league has already run youth programmes and fan activations in the country. Zee, for its part, recently committed 15% of Zee5’s football subscription revenue toward identifying and training young Indian football talent.
Together, the deal signals a shift from simply airing matches to actively investing in the sport’s grassroots future in India.
