Zee News, which has secured exclusive rights to the full transcript of the explosive Tehelka tapes, will be screening the tapes beginning Thursday, industry sources confirmed today.

The full tapes were compiled after a sting operation to expose corruption in defence deals carried out by the website tehelka.com and come to four and a half hours of footage. The tapes are to be shown in one-and-a-half-hour segments (ads and breaks included) on prime time Thursday through to Sunday.

The tapes, which have shaken up the government and led to the resignation of India's defence minister George Fernandes as its biggest fallout, have been at the centre of a bidding war that included rival channels Star News and Aaj Tak from the India Today group.