Zee Entertainment Tumbles to Five-Month Low on Sharp Q2 Profit Drop

Shares of

Ltd. plunged to their lowest level in five months on Friday, hammered by a steep 63% nosedive in second-quarter net profit that underscores ongoing challenges in the media sector. The stock skidded 3.85% to hit an intraday trough of ₹105.1 on the National Stock Exchange (NSE), reflecting investor jitters over the company's earnings miss. Zee, the powerhouse behind popular channels like Zee TV and Zee Cinema, reported a consolidated net profit of just ₹76.5 crore for the quarter ended September 30, a stark contrast to the ₹209 crore logged in the same period a year earlier. The earnings report painted a grim picture of advertising woes plaguing the industry. For the first half of FY26, advertising revenue cratered 14% to ₹1,564.8 crore from ₹1,813 crore in the prior year's corresponding period. Domestic ad sales bore the brunt, squeezed by a broader slowdown in fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) spending amid economic headwinds.