Zee's TEN Sports sold to Sony Pictures in Rs. 2,600 crore all-cash deal

Sony Pictures Entertainment and its affiliate businesses will buy Zee Entertainment Enterprises' TEN Sports for Rs. 2,600 crore ($385 million) in an all-cash deal. The sale was approved by Zee's Board of Directors on Wednesday. TEN Sports is currently held under two wholly-owned subsidiaries of Zee, Taj TV Ltd. (Mauritius) and Taj Television (India) Private Ltd.

The TEN Sports channels include TEN 1, TEN 1 HD, TEN 2, TEN 3, TEN Golf HD, TEN Cricket and TEN Sports. The channels operate in several countries including India, Maldives, Singapore, Hong Kong, Middle East and Caribbean.

The deal comes at a time when Subhash Chandra's Zee is undergoing a portfolio reshuffle to re-focus its entertainment business in domestic and overseas markets.

"While we have grown our sports business over the last 10 years through acquisition of content at competitive prices, our focus now is on transforming ourselves into an all-round media and content company, comprising of five verticals, viz. broadcast, digital, films, live events, and international business," said Punit Goenka, Managing Director, Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited.

The sports broadcasting business fetched Rs. 631 crore which accounts for 10.79 per cent of the net consolidated revenues, but ran a loss of Rs. 37.20 crore during the financial year 2015-16.

"The acquisition of TEN Sports will strengthen SPN's offering for viewers of cricket, football and fight sports, complementing our existing portfolio of international and domestic sporting properties. It also aptly demonstrates SPN's commitment to providing a broad range of sporting entertainment to fans across India and the sub-continent," said N.P. Singh, CEO of Sony Pictures Network India.

TEN Sports have broadcasting rights of five cricket boards, including Pakistan, Sri Lanka and West Indies. They have rights of World Wrestling Entertainment, UEFA Champions League, tennis, golf, athletics, motor sports and cycling events.

"The acquisition of TEN Sports, following the launch of SONY ESPN channels, will mean that our Indian networks would reach over 800 million viewers and broadcast many of the most popular and prestigious sporting events in the world," said Andy Kaplan, President, Worldwide Networks, Sony Pictures Television.

Sony's acquisition will consolidate sports broadcasting rights in India between Star India and Sony Pictures Network (SPN). Star India holds broadcasting rights of Board of Control for Cricket in India, International Cricket Council and tennis grand slams like Wimbledon and French Open. Meanwhile, SPN holds broadcasting rights of Indian Premier League, FIFA, UEFA Euro league and National Basketball Associations events among others.