FIFA has reached an agreement with India's Zee Entertainment to broadcast the World Cup in the country, ending a months-long standoff over the tournament's availability in one of the last major markets where rights remained unsold.

While the financial terms of the package signed on Monday were not disclosed, FIFA reportedly sought about $100 million for the 2026 and 2030 tournaments before slashing its asking price to $60 million.

The deal gives Zee a toehold in India's sports broadcast market, where the Reliance-Disney joint venture JioStar holds rights ranging from the Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket tournament to the English Premier League football.

It covers 39 FIFA events over eight years through 2034, including the Women's World Cup in 2027, according to a joint statement from FIFA and Zee.

Shares of Zee were about 7 percent higher on the day after the announcement. The agreement came just 10 days before the tournament kicks off on June 11 across the United States, Canada and Mexico.

Last month, experts told Al Jazeera that kickoff times for the majority of matches are the biggest concern for Indian broadcasters since many games will be played at odd hours for the Indian audience, with a 10-12 hour time difference between host cities and India.

Only 14 out of the total 104 World Cup games will begin before midnight for fans in India. The final will be held in New Jersey on July 19, beginning at 19:00 GMT, which will be 12:30am on July 20 in India.

Karan Taurani, executive vice president at investment firm Elara Capital, sees TV as a "struggling" medium in India. "When you have these kinds of sporting events, effectively it is mostly digital that is monetising and raising big money," Taurani said, adding that cricket dominates the sports economy and only a small fraction of IPL viewers will watch the FIFA World Cup.

Source: www.aljazeera.com