Mumbai: Zee5’s strategic investment in football has delivered a major milestone, with the FIFA World Cup 2026™ emerging as India’s most-watched OTT property during the week of July 13–19, according to the latest Ormax StreamView rankings.
The tournament attracted an estimated 15 million viewers on Zee5, challenging conventional perceptions around India’s appetite for global football content. Despite several matches being scheduled during late-night and early-morning hours, nearly 40% of peak concurrent viewership came from matches played between midnight and 4 a.m., highlighting the growing commitment of Indian football fans.
The success of the FIFA World Cup 2026™ extended beyond viewership numbers, signalling a shift in how audiences consume global sports content. The tournament helped football reach wider audiences across regions, languages and devices, transforming it from a sport with traditional fan bases into a broader national viewing phenomenon.
Between June 1 and July 19, the FIFA World Cup 2026™ drove a 79% increase in watch time on Zee5, along with a 55% increase in daily installs and new subscriptions, making it one of the platform’s biggest live sports achievements.
The tournament also witnessed strong participation from emerging markets, with Tier 2 cities contributing over 45% of total watch time. Connected Devices accounted for 53% of match viewing, reflecting the increasing preference for premium, large-screen sports experiences.
Zee5’s multilingual approach further expanded the tournament’s reach. While English remained the leading language of consumption, Hindi, Malayalam and Bengali audiences contributed significantly to viewership. West Bengal emerged as the platform’s largest football market, followed by Maharashtra, Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Delhi.
The tournament also strengthened engagement across Zee5’s broader entertainment ecosystem. More than two-thirds of FIFA subscribers went on to watch movies on the platform, while half explored original series, demonstrating the ability of premium live sports to drive deeper content discovery and platform engagement.
Commenting on the milestone, Bavesh Janavlekar, Chief Business Officer, Unite8 Sports, Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd. said, “Long before we acquired the FIFA rights, we knew India was home to one of the world’s most passionate football communities. Whether it is fans staying up through the night to follow their favourite clubs, or India emerging as FIFA’s second largest Instagram audience globally with over 10% of its worldwide following, the passion for the sport has always existed. We saw an opportunity to serve that audience with the scale and quality it deserved. Through our partnership with FIFA, we set out to make the tournament more accessible than ever before by bringing it across television and digital, in multiple languages, and with an experience built around Indian fans. The response to the FIFA World Cup 2026™ has validated that belief. It has shown that football in India is no longer a niche interest, but a growing mainstream phenomenon that brings together fans, creators, brands, and communities. As we continue to invest in football tournaments like Bundesliga, along with ILT Season 5 and Tamil Nadu Kabaddi, our ambition is to build a stronger, more inclusive overall sporting ecosystem for India.”
The FIFA World Cup 2026™ marks another milestone in Zee5’s long-term strategy to expand football’s footprint in India. Through its partnership with FIFA until 2034, the platform aims to make the world’s biggest football tournaments more accessible to Indian audiences while contributing to the growth of the sport nationwide.
Building on this momentum, Zee5 has also expanded its entertainment portfolio with its largest multilingual content slate, featuring collaborations with leading studios and marquee talent. Alongside its growing sports portfolio including FIFA®, Bundesliga, ILT Season 5 and Tamil Nadu Kabaddi, the platform continues to position itself as an Indian destination for premium entertainment and live sporting experiences.
With the FIFA World Cup 2026™ success, Zee5 has demonstrated that sports streaming in India is evolving beyond traditional viewing patterns, with audiences increasingly embracing global sporting events across formats, languages and screens.
