Sony Corp's bid to buy Subhash Chandra's Zee Entertainment Enterprises (ZEE) has been called off for now following valuation differences, The Economic Times reported.

The development has pushed a rival consortium of US cable major Comcast to the forefront, the report said citing four persons familiar with the development.

Comcast owns NBC Universal and its bid partner for Zee is Atairos, a $4-billion investment company led by the former Comcast CFO Michael Angelakis, said the report.

In March, Sony had submitted a non-binding term sheet and was seen as a strong contender to acquire the media company. However, the newspaper said, differences over valuation and structuring have almost called off the deal.