'Open to all possibilities, including settlement': ZEEL CEO Punit Goenka on Star dispute
The ZEEL-Star India matter is before the London Court of International Arbitration. Star India is reportedly set to submit its reply and defense against Zee Entertainment's counterclaims by 6 June 2025.
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Zee Entertainment Enterprises CEO Punit Goenka has hinted at softening his stance in the company's ongoing dispute with the joint venture of Reliance Industries and Walt Disney over a now-terminated $1.5 billion cricket broadcasting rights.
He said that ZEEL is open to all possible avenues, including legal and out-of-court settlements in the matter. During the Quarter 4 FY25 earnings call, Goenka said, "Open to all possibilities...both legal and non legal, including out-of-court resolution," as reported by The Economic Times.
Vikas Somani, head of strategy, M&A, and business development at ZEEL, added, "We are actively working on deploying all strategies, legal or non-legal".
The remark stems from a collapsed billion dollar sub-licensing agreement for ICC media rights.
The origin of conflict dates back to August 2022, when Star acquired the broadcasting rights for International Cricket Council (ICC) tournaments for $3 billion. It sub-licensed the TV rights to Zee for four years from 2024 and retained the digital rights. The deal required ICC approval, along with corporate guarantees and financial commitments.
Now, in January 2024, Star alleged that Zee defaulted on a $203.56 million payment and did not provide bank guarantees. Following this, Zee terminated the agreement with Star, countering the breach-of-contract allegations. ZEEL also demanded a refund of $8 million.
Meanwhile, Reliance Industries' step-down unit Viacom18 Media Pvt Ltd and Walt Disney Company formed a joint venture, valued at $8.5 billion, to create India's largest media and entertainment powerhouse.
The deal involved the merger of Viacom18's media and JioCinema businesses into Star India Private Limited (SIPL).
The ZEEL-Star India matter is before the London Court of International Arbitration. Star India is reportedly set to submit its reply and defense against Zee Entertainment's counterclaims by 6 June 2025. ZEEL, in turn, is scheduled to file its rejoinder by 1 August 2025. The arbitration proceedings between two media companies are currently in the document production stage.
"We are open to all possibilities that are available to us, both legal and non-legal...but it's very early for us to comment there at all," Goenka said.
The media company has anticipated an outcome in the case by early next year.
