Zee Q1 profit rebounds as revenue rises 5 per cent to Rs 1,907 crore

MUMBAI: Zee has found a little more spring in its step, even as a softer advertising market kept the quarter from being a clean sweep. Zee Entertainment Enterprises reported operating revenue of Rs 1,907.3 crore for Q1 FY27, up 5 per cent year-on-year, while profit after tax stood at Rs 74.3 crore, compared with a loss of Rs 103.7 crore in the previous quarter.

The quarter, however, was a mixed bag. EBITDA came in at Rs 78.9 crore, with the margin at 4.1 per cent, compared with EBITDA of Rs 228 crore and a 12.5 per cent margin in Q1 FY26. The company attributed pressure on the quarter to a weak advertising environment, higher programming costs and increased investments around FIFA 2026.

Advertising remained the sore spot, with domestic ad revenue affected by the Middle East crisis and cricket, pushing overall advertising revenue down 11 per cent year-on-year. The company said the business began recovering in June following its acquisition of the FIFA digital and broadcasting rights.

Subscription, meanwhile, picked up the slack. Zee’s Q1 FY27 subscription revenue stood at Rs 1,031.7 crore, supported by higher linear subscription pricing, growth in digital subscribers and higher average revenue per user. Other sales and services revenue rose 17 per cent year-on-year to Rs 99 crore.

The biggest digital bright spot was ZEE5, whose revenue jumped 58 per cent year-on-year to Rs 457.1 crore. The streaming platform also posted positive EBITDA of Rs 4.4 crore, marking another quarter of improvement in its unit economics. Zee said ZEE5 released 38 shows and movies, including 15 originals, during the quarter.

Sports also gave Zee a sizeable shot in the arm. The FIFA World Cup 2026 generated more than 400 million reach across live and non-live consumption, with around 50 billion minutes of watch time across platforms. On ZEE5, 83 per cent of FIFA watch time came from live matches.

During the investor call, CEO Punit Goenka said Zee’s sports strategy would prioritise long-term value creation and financial sustainability rather than chasing expensive properties. The company, he said, would focus on value delivery while building a differentiated sports offering.

The network is also gaining ground on television. Zee recorded an all-India TV network share of 17.9 per cent in Q1 FY27, up 110 basis points year-on-year, according to the company’s BARC-based metrics. In week 24 of 2026, its network share climbed to 20 per cent, its highest level in more than seven years. Weekly reach stood at 732 million, while weekly impressions were 27.1 billion.

Goenka said the company’s content strategy was continuing to gain traction, with Zee TV strengthening its position and newer bets including micro dramas, kids entertainment, live events, VFX and animation being developed as additional growth avenues.

Zee is also preparing for a bigger multilingual digital push. ZEE5 has unveiled its largest multilingual content slate, spanning seven languages, while the company’s music business, Zee Music Company, ended the quarter with around 177 million YouTube subscribers and added more than 1.5 million subscribers during the year.

On the balance-sheet front, Zee had Rs 2,210.9 crore in cash and treasury investments as of June 2026. Content investment also continued to rise, with content inventory and advances increasing by Rs 420 crore during Q1 FY27 to Rs 7,180 crore.

With advertising still under pressure but subscription, streaming and sports providing counterweight, Zee’s first quarter appears less about a dramatic turnaround and more about rebuilding momentum across multiple fronts.