Production House
Radio silence broken as ENIL swings back to red in December quarter
Higher income, heavier costs and one-off hits shape Radio Mirchi owner’s run.
MUMBAI: Radio may thrive on sound, but this quarter the numbers did most of the talking at Entertainment Network India Limited (ENIL), the Radio Mirchi operator and a subsidiary of Bennett, Coleman & Company Limited.
For the quarter ended December 31, 2025, ENIL reported total income of Rs 166.28 crore, up from Rs 159.94 crore in the same quarter last year. Revenue from operations stood at Rs 159.82 crore, compared with Rs 153.70 crore a year earlier, reflecting steadier domestic advertising and incremental overseas income.
Despite the top-line growth, the December quarter slipped into the red. ENIL posted a net loss of Rs 6.20 crore, reversing a profit of Rs 8.51 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous year. The swing was largely driven by higher costs and an exceptional expense of Rs 8.10 crore booked during the period.
Quarterly expenses climbed to Rs 170.02 crore from Rs 148.46 crore a year ago. Production expenses alone jumped to Rs 62.43 crore from Rs 48.34 crore, while other expenses rose to Rs 39.17 crore from Rs 31.32 crore, highlighting sharper content and operating costs.
For the nine months ended December 31, 2025, ENIL reported total income of Rs 428.97 crore, up from Rs 398.41 crore in the corresponding period last year. Revenue from operations for the nine-month period increased to Rs 408.19 crore from Rs 372.67 crore. However, the company reported a net loss of Rs 14.92 crore for the period, compared with a marginal loss of Rs 0.73 crore a year earlier, again weighed down by exceptional items.
Geographically, India continued to do the heavy lifting. Domestic operations generated Rs 155.44 crore in the December quarter, while overseas markets including the United States, Qatar and Bahrain contributed Rs 9.52 crore. Over the nine-month period, India accounted for Rs 398.09 crore of revenue, with international markets adding Rs 24.95 crore.
For the full year ended March 31, 2025, ENIL had reported a net profit of Rs 11.81 crore on total income of Rs 563.47 crore, underscoring how sharply the current financial year has been shaped by cost pressures and one-off adjustments.
In short, while Radio Mirchi’s tunes continue to draw advertisers, the latest numbers show ENIL navigating a tricky frequency, balancing revenue growth with rising costs as it works to retune its financial performance.
Production House
Zee Entertainment redeems FCCBs and restructures content business
Media giant streamlines operations with bond redemption and fresh investments.
MUMBAI: Zee Entertainment has just hit the reset button because when you’re rewriting the script, sometimes the best plot twist is a clean balance sheet. Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited has approved a series of strategic moves, including the redemption of foreign currency bonds and a major restructuring of its content business. The board cleared the redemption of outstanding Foreign Currency Convertible Bonds worth $23.9 million and the cancellation of an unutilised commitment of $215.1 million, following requests from bondholders amid the current geopolitical environment. The decision is expected to have a positive impact on the company’s treasury.
In a key restructuring step, Zee will transfer its content syndication and licensing business to its wholly owned subsidiary, ZI-IPR Enterprises Limited, through a slump sale on a going concern basis. The transfer will take effect from 1 April 2026 at book value, aimed at sharpening focus on content monetisation.
To support the strategy, the company will invest up to Rs 500 crore in optionally convertible debentures and Rs 5 crore in equity in ZI-IPR Enterprises. It has also approved an investment of up to Rs 20.09 crore in Culture of Real Experiences Private Limited to acquire a 51 per cent stake on a fully diluted basis, to be made in phases.
Both ZI-IPR Enterprises and Core are newly incorporated entities with no reported turnover in FY25. The investment in ZI-IPR qualifies as a related-party transaction, while the CORE acquisition does not.
These moves reflect Zee’s ongoing efforts to streamline operations, strengthen its content ecosystem and explore diversification into creative and experiential segments.
In the fast-paced world of Indian media, where content is king and cash is its loyal subject, Zee has chosen to tidy the treasury and sharpen the crown proving that even entertainment giants know when it’s time for a strategic plot twist.
