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Informist, Friday, Jul. 3, 2026

 

NEW DELHI – As the FIFA World Cup 2026 is inaccessible to persons with visual disabilities on Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd.'s ZEE5 platform, the Delhi High Court has directed the company to take expeditious steps to ensure the platform complies with the accessibility guidelines. The high court has issued a notice to Zee Entertainment on a plea by petitioner Rahul Bajaj, a visually disabled lawyer, seeking a direction to the company to ensure the platform remains accessible to persons with visual disabilities.

 

Zee Entertainment has partnered with the Federation Internationale de Football Association to stream global football events, including the FIFA World Cup 2026, FIFA World Cup 2030, and FIFA Women's World Cup 2027. The company has also secured the rights for a docu-series on all these tournaments. The company has exclusive rights to broadcast these events in India. While the financial terms of the package were not disclosed, media reports indicate that FIFA had initially sought about $100 million for the 2026 and 2030 tournaments before slashing its asking price to $60 million. 

 

Bajaj said he was keen on following the 2026 World Cup and purchased a subscription to the ZEE5 platform at the start of the tournament. However, it has become impossible for him to follow football matches on the ZEE5 platform due to a range of accessibility barriers, Bajaj said. An entire class of blind and low vision users are suffering due to the violation of the continuing statutory obligation upon Zee Entertainment to ensure that its platform is accessible for persons with visual disabilities, Bajaj said. The petitioner said that the inaccessibility for visually disabled persons was violative of the fundamental rights under the Indian Constitution and the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016. 

 

Bajaj has sought the court's direction to Zee Entertainment to submit a detailed accessibility audit report prepared by a government-empanelled accessibility auditor, identifying all existing barriers faced by persons with visual disabilities on the ZEE5 platform across its mobile applications, website, smart-television applications, and desktop software. It sought that the court direct Zee Entertainment to render the ZEE5 platform operable independently via screen-reader assistive technology within a time-bound schedule. Further, Bajaj sought that Zee Entertainment should display an accessibility conformance report on the ZEE5 website and applications. 

 

The high court will hear the case next on Sept. 17. The FIFA World Cup 2026 will end on Jul. 19. 

 

Friday, shares of Zee Entertainment Enterprises ended 1.9% lower at INR 105.09 on the National Stock Exchange.  End

 

Reported by Surya Tripathi

Edited by Saji George Titus

 

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