FIFA World Cup Reaches Over 100 Million Viewers In India

By Nantoo Banerjee

Despite never qualifying for the FIFA (Federations of International Football Associations) World Cup, India has emerged as one of the largest global markets for the current tournament being co-hosted by the United States, Canada, and Mexico, with matches played across 16 official host cities. In the opening weekend alone, the tournament reached over 100 million viewers across Zee Entertainment’s platforms. The FIFA World Cup 2026 is officially broadcast in India in Hindi, English, Bengali, and Malayalam. These language feeds aim to cater to regional football strongholds in West Bengal and Kerala, as well as the broader national audience. India holds the second largest Instagram audience for FIFA globally. It is another matter that India’s national men’s football team is currently ranked 139th in the official FIFA World Rankings, placing them 26th among Asian Football Confederation (AFC) nations. Viewers in India are consuming the tournament through a variety of digital, television, and social platforms.

Live matches are being exclusively broadcast in India by Zee Entertainment Enterprises across their Unite8 Sports network channels. Digital streaming is handled by Zee5, which attracted millions of viewers on its opening weekend, with an average engagement time exceeding 190 minutes per viewer. Zee Entertainment secured the exclusive television and digital broadcasting rights for the 2026 FIFA World Cup in India for an estimated cost of US$40 million (over Rs.380 crore). The World Cup Football tournament has generated huge buzz in India, with over 360 million views on social media and a massive 10.21 percent share of FIFA’s global Instagram audience. Zee Entertainment holds the exclusive television and digital broadcasting rights for the FIFA World Cup 2026 in India. Football fans are watching the matches live on Zee’s newly launched United8 Sports Network on TV and streaming them digitally on the ZEE5 platform.

A powerful chain of events is driving the growth of India’s media and entertainment (M&E) sector to digital space. Hyper-affordable data and widespread smartphone penetration, a massive shift from traditional broadcasting to digital streaming, a booming live event economy, and the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) are propelling the growth. Over 55 crore smartphone users and the availability of the world’s cheapest data costs have transformed mobile phones into the primary entertainment device, where Indians spend the majority of their media time. With audiences increasingly consuming personalized and regional content, digital media officially overtook television to become the largest segment in the Indian M&E landscape. Lately, the exploding ‘concert economy’ is being fuelled by a spike in ticketed concerts featuring global artists, large public gatherings, and a massive rise in multi-city domestic tours. The democratization of content creation—powered by a four-million-strong creator economy and AI-enabled workflows—has drastically cut production costs and accelerated the generation of professional-grade audio and video.

Thanks to these developments, the media and entertainment industry is experiencing a highly encouraging growth. Leading the country’s media and entertainment industry boom are JioStar (Reliance-Disney-Bodhi Tree), Zee Entertainment Enterprises, Sony Pictures Networks, Sun TV Network and digital leaders like Prime Video. Latest reports suggest that the country’s media and entertainment (M&E) sector reached an estimated total value of Rs. 2.78 trillion, clocking nearly a 10 percent year-on-year growth. This comprehensive growth was defined by several key drivers and structural shifts such as digital media, live events and traditional media shifts.

The digital media has crossed the historic Rs. one-trillion mark, becoming the largest single segment. Digital advertising grew 26 percent and now accounts for 63 percent of total ad revenues. Live events are experiencing massive growth, expanding by 44 percent year-on-year as audiences returned to in-person experiences. Linear television and print media faced transitions and mixed trends, with brands increasingly pivoting to performance-led digital formats. The industry is undergoing a massive transformation with key trends dominating the landscape are digital and micro-drama explosion, the ‘Orange Economy’, live events and regional content, global tech investments. Reports suggest that overall industry revenues are pacing forward toward Rs.3.30 trillion by 2028.

Digital media’s growth has been fuelled by widespread smartphone penetration and 5G. Further, vertical mobile micro-dramas (bitesize, high-intensity serialized episodes) have emerged as the fastest-growing sector, capturing a US$300 million market share. The government views the creative and cultural economy (Orange Economy) as a core employment strategy and soft power asset, leading to tech-forward initiatives and support for AI integration in visual effects, gaming, and cloud-based storytelling. Live events and experiential entertainment are surging by over 40 percent year-over-year. Simultaneously, regional OTT (Over-The-Top) content volumes have officially surpassed Hindi-language releases, decentralizing production to local markets. Tech giants like Amazon are pouring billions into Indian cloud and AI infrastructure to bolster this content revolution.

The government is keenly watching the expansion of the digital sector and its growing contribution to economic growth. Digital India, the government’s umbrella flagship programme, is helping the country transform itself into a digitally empowered society and knowledge economy. Its digital infrastructure Is providing high-speed internet, lifelong digital identities, mobile connectivity, and accessible public internet networks across urban and rural areas. All government entitlements, utility payments, and services are being made instantly available online and via mobile devices. At the same time, the government is driving digital literacy and bridging the urban-rural divide through nationwide training and local service centres. Over 5.6 lakh Common Services Centres (CSCs) deliver hundreds of e-governance and business services right to the village level. Policy initiatives, including the upcoming National Centre of Excellence for AVGC (Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming, and Comics) and single-window clearances for live events, are fostering sustainable, structured growth across the country.

Digital media is driving an explosive growth of the entertainment industry, shifting power from traditional gatekeepers to direct-to-consumer digital platforms. Digital explosion has engulfed even the traditional publishing and print media establishments such as Bennett Coleman& Co., Hindustan Times, India Today and Jagran Prakashan. In fact, India’s media & entertainment (M&E) sector is experiencing a monumental structural shift. Today, digital media has even overtaken television to become the largest segment, driving the industry to a massive Rs. 2.78 trillion market. Everything from content creation and distribution to advertising is now fundamentally centred around digital consumption. (IPA Service)