JioStar vs Zee: OTT Platforms Get Stuck in a Legal Battle, Know What’s Cooking!

Reliance-Disney and Zee are now facing each other in court. JioStar, the television and online entertainment venture of Reliance and Walt Disney, filed a 120-page plea against its Indian TV rival, Zee Entertainment. The former accused Zee of alleged unauthorised broadcast of Bollywood ‌films it has the rights to. 

In its 120-page plea, JioStar alleged that Zee broadcast 12 distinct films around 20 times, including some blockbusters featuring Shah Rukh Khan and Aamir Khan. It described Zee as a “habitual infringer” and accused the company of continuing to “engage in the unauthorised broadcast and exploitation of the films”.

JioStar vs Zee Legal Battle Explained

According to the legal documents reviewed by Reuters, on May 4, JioStar filed ​a case on May 4 with a legal mediation committee, challenging Zee’s broadcast of films under Jio’s rights. Earlier, in ​April, Zee sued JioStar in a Delhi court for unauthorised use of its copyrighted music. In 2024, the companies were already locked in a $1 billion arbitration in London over a collapsed cricket licensing deal in 2024. In a nutshell, the big players have been stuck in plenty of legal notices.

The legal committee has asked Zee to appear before it on May 25, adding that a failure to ​do so will be considered a refusal to participate in the mediation. Additionally, shares in Zee extended losses after the Reuters story, falling 3.4% in Mumbai trading. Reportedly, JioStar and Zee reach hundreds of millions of viewers through scores of TV channels and a streaming platform each. Reliance says JioStar has a 34.2% market share of India’s TV market, while Zee says its share is at a four-year high of 18%. 

A close source stated that JioStar is likely to seek upwards of 250 million rupees ($2.61 million) for the alleged infringement of its film rights, though the amount has not been finalised.