ZEE5’s Sports Era Begins Tonight, Crisis Deepens At WinZO & More

ZEE5’s FIFA Litmus Test

After months of uncertainty, Zee recently locked both TV and digital rights for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, looking to revive its lost glory in the live sports and on-demand sports segment. Zee and its OTT platform ZEE5 are betting big and it all starts tonight as the first match kicks off in Mexico. But what is the real prize on offer for ZEE5? 

Zee’s Big Bet: For the media giant, the rights deal offers something valuable: live content that can pull large audiences at once, high engagement and a long list of advertisers. This also offers ZEE5 a chance to re-enter the premium sports conversation and grab market share.

Monetisation Tightrope: However, the economic potential of football streaming in India has historically trailed cricket. Despite a sizeable following, platforms have not been able to increase ad revenue and uptake remains low. Plus, the FIFA World Cup this time around presents a time zone conundrum with most matches happening late at night. 

Experts we spoke to estimate that ZEE5 must acquire at least 3 Mn subscribers just to recoup the estimated $35 Mn annual rights fee, which could put a stress on near-term unit economics.

Beyond FIFA World Cup: The challenges are real, which is why Zee and ZEE5 are looking past immediate revenues from FIFA World Cup and are looking to garner long-term fan engagement. It is looking to invest in streaming and supporting youth competitions and bringing exclusive documentary features across its network to drive year-round engagement.

Bavesh Janavlekar, the business head of Zee Sports told us ZEE5 is targeting conversions from FIFA World Cup to bring in more long-term ZEE5 subscribers. One can expect heavy promotion of ZEE5 properties during the course of the World Cup.   

The Audience Bet:. ZEE5 is betting on the demographic that typically consumes football. Football tends to connect with younger, urban and digitally engaged viewers, and these users typically tend to pay a lot more for live sports experience than the average OTT subscriber.

Zee sees the FIFA rights as a strategy to establish credibility in sports and strengthen its overall franchise through ZEE5. But its ability to extract the maximum potential of the FIFA World Cup will determine whether it can stand up to JioHotstar and SonyLIV in the sports streaming space.

The next month will show whether it can. Here’s our deep dive into the ZEE5 plan… 

From The Editor’s Desk

Crisis Deepens At WinZO

• Nearly a year after the RMG ban crippled its core business, the gaming startup is trying to douse fires on multiple fronts. With bank accounts frozen and employees leaving in droves, WinZO has not paid salaries for the past six months. 
• Meanwhile, WinZO is still attempting to build new revenue streams. It has been tinkering with short dramas and digital gold, but each new bet has run into execution trouble, from weak traction to operational disruption, post the ED probe.
• Founded in 2018, WinZO scaled on the back of real money gaming until the category collapsed overnight after the Centre’s ban. The crackdown was compounded by ED raids, money laundering allegations, arrests of cofounders and court battles.

Uni Seoul Bags ₹35 Cr

• The D2C Korean-inspired lifestyle and gifting platform has raised $3.6 Mn in its Series A round co-led by Riverwalk Holdings and Sauce.vc to expand its offline footprint across, strengthen supply chain and launch private label offerings.
• Founded in 2023, Uni Seoul operates an offline-first platform that sells Korean-inspired lifestyle and gifting products. It claims to have more than 1,000 SKUs under its belt and runs 15 stores across Bengaluru, Pune, Mumbai, among others. 
• Going forward, the startup aims to scale its store network to more than 50 in the near term and build 500 retail touchpoints over the next five years. It is eyeing a piece of India’s K-beauty market, which is projected to become a $1.5 Bn opportunity by 2030.

Zepto’s IPO Math

• Earlier this week, Zepto filed its updated DRHP with SEBI for a public listing, which will comprise a fresh issue of shares worth ₹8,010 Cr and an OFS of up to 11.35 Cr shares. But the draft IPO documents revealed much more. 
• The top line almost doubled YoY to ₹22,624 Cr in FY26, but the key takeaway was not just scale. Adjusted EBITDA loss per order fell 41% YoY to ₹79 and free cash flow burn per order declined by half to ₹68, showing the unicorn is becoming more efficient.
• Even with better density and ad revenues, Zepto’s runway is tight. With roughly 1.3 years of cash left at current burn levels, its transacting user base has slipped from 49.54 Mn to 47.97 Mn amid rising competition from rivals like Blinkit and Instamart.

Honasa’s ₹5,500 Cr Revenue Arc

• The listed D2C giant has set its eyes on cinching a consolidated revenue of ₹5,500 Cr by FY31, more than double its ₹2,391.9 Cr top line in FY26. It also plans to scale its flagship brand Mamaearth to ₹2,000 Cr in revenue in the next four years.
• To achieve its target, the company has outlined plans to create more flagship brands by scaling The Derma Co, crack new  categories and expand its EBITDA margin by 500 bps to cross the 15% EBITDA margin milestone.
• Another key cog in Honasa’s growth plan is strengthening its omnichannel distribution network. By FY31, the company aims to tap into general trade to contribute the biggest chunk of its revenues, followed by modern trade and ecommerce.

Meta’s India Data Centre Play

• The big tech giant has partnered with Reliance Industries to set up its first AI-enabled data centre in the country. The data centre will be set up in Gujarat’s Jamnagar, with an initial capacity of 168 ​MW and an option to scale it further.
• The facility is expected to become operational within two years. Under the agreement, RIL will act as a single-window solutions provider, handling end-to-end services across design, construction, utility management and power supply.
• Meta also said that it has tied up with other Indian companies to build nearly 1 GW of renewable energy capacity in the country. While CleanMax will install 837 MW of new solar and wind capacity, Fourth Partner Energy will install 88 MW.

Inc42 Markets

Inc42 Startup Spotlight

How NORI Is Designing Luggages For Indian Women

India’s luggage market may be vast, but it is still not relevant to how women travel today. Most travel gear is built for a generic consumer, missing nuances in ergonomics, storage, and usability. NORI is stepping in to redesign travel essentials around how women actually pack.

Luggage For Ladies: Founded in 2025, NORI positions itself as a women-first travel gear brand. Its products are designed around female-centric needs, from compartmentalisation to more ergonomic handling, aiming to make travel more intuitive and comfortable.

The Product Differentiation: NORI offers a range of hard-shell luggage, weekenders, travel bags, foldable totes, and packing organisers. Instead of competing purely on price or brand recall, it focuses on design-led differentiation, tailoring products to real-world travel behaviours and preferences.

Built To Scale: The startup follows a hybrid sourcing and local assembly model, allowing flexibility in production while maintaining quality. As it grows, NORI is expanding its online presence alongside building premium offline retail touchpoints across metro cities. 

With the homegrown luggage market projected to become a ₹26,700 Cr opportunity by 2028, can NORI redefine travel for Indian women?

Infographic Of The Day

Zepto is heading for the public markets. But the quick commerce giant’s founders own less than 20% of the company. Ahead of its IPO, we break down who really owns Zepto and the investors backing one of India’s most valuable startups.

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