Zee Media posts Rs 190.85 crore Q1 revenue, EBITDA falls 17.8 per cent

NOIDA: Zee Media is turning up the volume on advertising. Zee Media Corporation Limited reported a 47.7 per cent year-on-year jump in advertising revenue to Rs 179.71 crore in the first quarter of fiscal 2027, helping consolidated operating revenue rise 4.7 per cent to Rs 190.85 crore.

The stronger ad performance came even as the company navigated higher operating costs. Zee Media’s operating expenditure rose 7.4 per cent to Rs 174.59 crore in Q1 FY27 from Rs 162.58 crore a year earlier, while operating profit fell 17.8 per cent to Rs 16.26 crore.

Subscription revenue also moved higher, rising 9.9 per cent to Rs 11.14 crore. The year-ago quarter, however, included Rs 50.56 crore from other sales and services, a category that recorded no revenue in the latest quarter. That shift partly explains why overall revenue growth was more modest than the advertising surge.

The results were approved by the company’s board on Friday.

Advertising remained the clear growth driver for the quarter. Zee Media’s ad revenue rose from Rs 121.66 crore in Q1 FY26 to Rs 179.71 crore in Q1 FY27, indicating a sharper contribution from its core media properties.

At the same time, operating costs climbed 51.3 per cent to Rs 51.19 crore. Employee benefits expenses were largely stable at Rs 66.37 crore, up 0.5 per cent, while other expenses declined 9.1 per cent to Rs 57.04 crore.

The contrasting numbers leave Zee Media with a familiar balancing act: convert stronger audience and advertising traction into sustainable profitability while investing in technology, content and new revenue streams.

Zee Media Corporation Limited is also looking to reduce its dependence on traditional advertising. Raktim Das said the company was moving towards a more diversified revenue model, with content and technology at the centre of its strategy.

“Q1 FY27 performance has set the runway to enter the next phase of our growth journey,” Zee Media Corporation Limited, chief executive officer, Raktim Das said.

He said the company was seeking a shift from a conventional advertising-led news business towards a media organisation with multiple revenue streams.

The company’s flagship news brands remained central to the strategy. Zee News and Zee 24 Ghanta were deployed extensively for election coverage in West Bengal, with constituency-level reporting, ground updates, data-led analysis and live counting-day coverage.

Zee Media also leaned on its regional network during elections in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Assam and Puducherry, combining national editorial resources with local-language reporting.

The company is simultaneously trying to sharpen the positioning of its individual brands. Zee Bharat has begun a younger and fresher brand journey, while WION is being positioned as a key part of Zee Media’s international expansion.

WION’s Global Leadership & Innovation Summit in Sri Lanka brought together policymakers, business leaders and experts to discuss the next phase of India-Sri Lanka relations.

The company also expanded its infotainment footprint with Bhojpuri Samman, aimed at strengthening its presence in Purvanchal through a property built around Bhojpuri cinema, entertainment and regional culture.

Events have become another part of Zee Media’s effort to build engagement beyond conventional news programming. The company said it conducted 36 high-impact events during the quarter across healthcare, travel, public policy, business, leadership, education, culture and community.

On the financial news side, Zee Business continued to build its position through properties including Money Alpha, Wealth Summit and Bharose Ki Choice.

Zee Business also ranked first among competitors for YouTube video-on-demand views during the quarter, according to Tubular.

Digital consumption was another bright spot. Zee Media said its YouTube ecosystem recorded nearly three times the video views in Q1, pointing to stronger reach and audience engagement across its channel portfolio.

The company is also bringing artificial intelligence deeper into its newsrooms. AI-powered tools are being used to support reporting, speed up content workflows and improve data-driven storytelling, with the broader aim of making editorial operations faster and more efficient.

Zee Media highlighted its investigative and people-centric journalism during the quarter, including campaigns around education fees and alleged education malpractice, as well as reporting on healthcare costs and medicine pricing.

Its regional operations also focused on high-profile criminal investigations and court developments, including the Raja Raghuvanshi murder case in Madhya Pradesh, the Ketan Agarwal murder case in Maharashtra and the RG Kar rape-murder case in Kolkata.

The company said its reporting across regional markets was designed to combine speed with on-ground context and continued follow-up, rather than simply chasing breaking news.

The broader strategy is clear: Zee Media wants its brands to travel further, both geographically and commercially. With advertising showing strong momentum, digital consumption rising and AI becoming part of newsroom operations, the company is betting that a wider revenue mix can turn audience scale into more durable growth.

For Q1, the ad story was certainly the headline act. The bigger test now is whether Zee Media can make that growth pay while its transformation gathers pace.