Now Reading: Zee Entertainment Q2 net profit falls up to 40% on higher costs
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Zee Entertainment Q2 net profit falls up to 40% on higher costs
The Story in Brief
Zee Entertainment Enterprises reported a 37.5% to 40.3% decline in consolidated net profit for the July-September 2026 quarter, with figures ranging from ₹47.8 crore (Livemint and Business Standard) to ₹55.6 crore (CNBC TV18). Revenue rose 13% to about ₹2,225 crore, driven by a 30% jump in subscription revenue from the FIFA World Cup and a strong content pipeline, but advertising revenue stayed flat at roughly ₹803 crore. Operating expenses rose 16%, with programming costs climbing to ₹1,224.7 crore and marketing spend surging to ₹571 crore, pushing the EBITDA margin down to 3.2-3.8% from 8% a year earlier.
The company said the final hearings before the London Court of International Arbitration over its ICC TV rights dispute with JioStar were completed, with an arbitral award awaited. On a standalone basis, Zee posted a net profit of ₹209.8 crore, boosted by ₹192.4 crore in dividend income. The stock fell 6.4% on Friday, 30 October, and is down 27% in 2026 so far. Zee said the upcoming festive season is expected to help advertising revenue.
Indian Opinion Analysis
CNBC TV18 leads with a 40.3% profit drop and a detailed EBITDA figure, Livemint frames the decline as 38% tied to FIFA World Cup costs, and Business Standard reports a 37.5% fall driven by margin pressure. All three attribute the profit decline to rising expenses, CNBC TV18 quantifies the cost lines, Livemint names FIFA as the prime factor, and Business Standard adds the digital business as a revenue driver while noting a 36% drop in distribution revenue. The only factual disagreement is the profit figure: CNBC TV18 says ₹55.6 crore, Livemint converts to 478 million rupees ($5 million) which equals roughly ₹47.8 crore, matching Business Standard's ₹47.8 crore, the source of the ₹7.8 crore gap is CNBC TV18's use of a different base period or rounding.
Coverage: 3 sources, 3 neutral
Sources (3): cnbctv18.com (neutral report), livemint.com (neutral report), business-standard.com (neutral report)
This brief was synthesised by AI from the 3 sources linked above, so one read covers every framing they carry. Methodology and corrections.
