Star India has terminated its sub-licensing agreement with Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (ZEE) for ICC TV rights, the Punit Goenka-led media major informed the bourses on Wednesday.
In a recent regulatory filing, ZEE declared that Star India notified them on June 20 about terminating their agreement and stated that it would only seek damages in the ongoing arbitration proceedings, which have not yet been specified by Star. ZEE also reported an accrual of Rs 7,214 lakh for bank guarantee commissions and interest expenses related to their share of the bank guarantee and the pending ICC approval for sub-licensing.
Earlier this year, in March, Disney-owned Star India had initiated arbitration proceedings against ZEE, seeking damages for failing to adhere to the terms of the $1.5 billion agreement signed on August 26, 2022. The Walt Disney Company-owned Star India had sub-licensed the ICC Men’s tournament TV rights to ZEE for the 2024-27 cycle.
On March 14, Star India initiated arbitration proceedings against ZEE, seeking damages for alleged non-compliance with the terms of the alliance agreement. Previously, ZEEL had sought a Rs 69 crore refund from Star India due to the failure of the TV rights deal, as noted in ZEEL’s Q3 financial statements. ZEE also claimed that it cannot continue with the ICC TV rights agreement due to alleged breaches by Star India.
