News Broadcasting
ZMCL reports more than quadruple profit for second quarter
BENGALURU: The Essel group’s television news broadcasting arm Zee Media Corporation Ltd (ZMCL) reported a 355.1 per cent growth (more than four-fold) in consolidated profit after tax (PAT) for the period ended 30 September 2018 (Q2 2019, quarter or period under review) as compared (year-on-year comparison, y-o-y) to the corresponding year ago quarter (Q2 2018, year ago quarter). PAT in Q2 2019 was Rs 17.25 crore as compared to Rs 3.79 crore in Q2 2018. ZMCL reported operating EBITDA at Rs 40.5 crore in Q2 2019, which was 355.1 per cent more than the Rs 3.79 crore in Q2 2018.
The company’s consolidated operating revenue increased 35.5 per cent y-o-y in Q2 2019 at Rs 168.66 crore as compared to Rs 124.51 crore in the year ago quarter. Total income increased 34.7 per cent y-o-y in Q2 2019 to Rs 170.66 crore from Rs 126.71 crore in Q2 2018.
In its earnings release ZMCL reported 34.5 per cent y-o-y growth in advertising revenue for Q 2019 at Rs 149.43 crore from Rs 111.10 crore. Subscription revenue increased 11.8 per cent y-o-y to Rs 13.1 crore in Q2 2019 from Rs 10.73 crore. Other sales and services also almost quadrupled (increased by 3.6 times) in Q2 2019 to Rs 6.11 crore from Rs 1.68 core in the corresponding year ago quarter.
Let us look at the other numbers reported by ZMCL
ZMCL’s total expenditure in Q2 2019 increased 31.2 per cent y-o-y to Rs 144.78 crore from Rs 110.37 crore. Employee benefits expense in the quarter under review increased 20.3 per cent y-o-y to Rs 37.36 crore from Rs 31.06 crore in Q2 2018. The company’s marketing promotion and distribution expenses in Q2 2019 increased 47.7 per cent to Rs 23.03 crore from Rs 15.59 crore in the corresponding year ago quarter.
Operating costs in Q2 2019 increased 25.9 per cent to Rs 24.49 crore from Rs 19.45 crore. Other expenses in Q2 2019 increased 35.5 per cent to Rs 42.91 crore from Rs 31.66 crore in Q2 2018.
It may be noted that ZMCL has sold its entire equity stake in Ez-Mall Online to a related party at an aggregate consideration of Rs 8.60 crore. Accordingly, Ez-Mall Online ceased to be a subsidiary of ZMCL with effect from 30 June 2018 and gain on disposal of investments of approximately Rs 41.21 crore has been recognised during the previous quarter and shown as exceptional items. Also, during the previous quarter, ZMCL completed acquisition of balance 40 per cent equity stake in its subsidiary Zee Akaash News Private Ltd (ZANPL). Accordingly, ZANPL became a wholly owned subsidiary of the company with effect from 1 June, 2018 and figures for the current quarter are not comparable with previous periods presented in the consolidated financial results says the company.
News Broadcasting
News TV viewership jumps 33 per cent as West Asia war draws audiences
BARC Week 8 data shows news share rising to 8 per cent despite T20 World Cup
NEW DELHI:Â Even as individual television news channel ratings remain under a temporary pause, the genre itself is seeing a clear surge in audience attention.
According to the latest data from Broadcast Audience Research Council India, television news recorded a 33 per cent jump in genre share in Week 8 of 2026, covering February 28 to March 6.
The news genre accounted for 8 per cent of total television viewership during the week, up from 6 per cent the previous week. The spike in attention coincided with escalating geopolitical tensions involving the United States, Israel and Iran, which have kept global headlines firmly fixed on West Asia.
The rise is notable because it came at a time when cricket was dominating television screens. The high-stakes stages of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, including the Super 8 fixtures and semi-finals, were being broadcast during the same period.
Despite the cricket frenzy, viewers appeared to be toggling between sport and global affairs, boosting the overall share of news programming.
The surge in genre share comes even as the government has enforced a one-month pause on publishing ratings for individual news channels. The move followed regulatory scrutiny of the television ratings ecosystem.
While channel-level rankings remain temporarily out of sight, the genre-level data suggests that when global tensions escalate, audiences continue to turn to television news for real-time updates.
