Disney Star is mulling legal actions against Zee Entertainment for backing out from a USD 1.4 billion sub-licensing agreement for TV broadcast of international cricket matches in India, according to industry sources.
This could brew another legal trouble for Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (ZEEL), which is already facing an arbitration plea by Sony Group at the Singapore International Arbitration Centre, claiming USD 90 million for breach of conditions of their merger agreement.
Disney Star, an Indian subsidiary of media conglomerate The Walt Disney Company, is working on its strategy over the development, said industry sources.
If the rescinded agreement contained an arbitration clause, then Disney Star would have to resort to arbitration proceedings for the resolution of the dispute and if the agreement is short of the arbitration clause, then Disney could initiate legal proceedings to sue Zee for damages.
ZEEL, which has already missed the first instalment of around USD 200 million, has informed Disney Star that it does not intend to move ahead with this.
According to the sources, this is a fallout of the collapse of its merger deal with Sony.
The instalment to be paid to Disney Star was part of the USD 1.5 billion investment committed by Sony Group after its merger with ZEEL, said another industry source while confirming the development.
Sony Corporation had on Monday announced the termination of the USD 10 billion merger agreement with ZEEL, while seeking USD 90 million for breach of conditions besides initiating arbitration.
As per the merger agreement between ZEEL and Sony, the Japanese entity was supposed to invest USD 1.575 billion in the merged entity and have a majority stake.
There were no immediate comments either from ZEEL or Disney Star over the development.
On August 30, 2022, ZEEL had announced entering a strategic licensing agreement with Disney Star for television broadcasting rights of the ICC Men's and Under-19 global events for a period of four years.
Disney Star will continue to exclusively stream all ICC tournaments through its digital platform Disney+ Hotstar, a joint statement had said.
This was done with the in-principle approval from the International Cricket Council (ICC).
Disney Star bagged the broadcast rights of all ICC events for four years from 2024 to 2027 for the Indian market from the sport's global governing body.