Zee’s big bet on ‘Z’ boosts stock: Beginning of a meaningful turnaround?

As ZEE flipped the script this week with a fresh set of announcements following its recent rebranding — and a nearly 10% surge in share price — market experts and industry watchers are taking notice. Once weighed down by the collapse of its merger with Sony and growing scrutiny over leadership, Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (ZEEL) is now attempting a strategic reset: a sharper digital focus, a revamped brand identity aimed at younger audiences, and a renewed push to make its OTT platform ZEE5 profitable, despite posting a ?548 crore EBITDA loss in FY25.

The rally in ZEEL’s stock, which hit ?149 on Monday, marked a high point for CEO and promoter Punit Goenka, who has been under pressure from investors and regulators in the wake of the Sony fallout. In its latest investor presentation, the company laid out ambitious goals including driving ZEE5 to EBITDA breakeven by FY26, expanding content offerings across platforms, targeting 2X advertising revenue by FY28 and strengthening monetization across business verticals such as TV, digital, music, movies, and syndication. The share price on Thursday closed at ?143.99.

Brijesh Ail, Head Technical and Derivatives, IDBI Capital Market & Securities, believes this strategic shift could signal the beginning of a meaningful turnaround.

“This rebranding is likely to translate into more content creation and technological upgrades. Additionally, the promoter is injecting fresh capital — potentially increasing their stake from 4% to 18%. They expect the company to break even by FY26. From a technical standpoint, Zee appears poised to retest the ?300 level. The recent low around ?90 seems to have formed a short-term bottom and should hold.

“The short-term outlook is positive, and long-term investors can consider staying invested. The projected upside is ?300, with ?90 acting as a strong support. The expected timeframe for this move is around 18 to 20 months,” Ail said.

Brand expert Nisha Sampath noted that the rebranding exercise is not just cosmetic — it’s a strategic necessity for Zee in its current context.

“Rebranding was a strategic necessity for Zee at this point. They have done their share of rebranding in the past. This time, the exercise assumes significance as it signals an intent to expand the focus of the brand — with a focus on content, technology, and the next-generation youth audience,” she said.

“While this will definitely capture the interest of external stakeholders, it remains to be seen how the brand promise translates into brand experience. The brand has struggled with core business issues in the recent past, and a mere change in visual identity will not restore the eroded equity or trust. It’s key that all internal stakeholders buy into the new Z and work to operationalise it in a way that consumers feel the change, and it reflects in increased appeal and ratings. If that does not happen, this rebranding risks being just another cosmetic branding exercise,” she said.

Sharing a similar view, another brand expert said, “At a time when Zee is trying to reset its narrative, a rebrand was inevitable, but what matters now is how deeply it’s integrated.”

As part of its broader strategic narrative, ZEEL has also taken a firm position in the changing broadcast landscape. The company believes the Indian broadcast market is entering a duopoly phase, with ZEEL holding a 17% share and a newly consolidated rival — referred to in the presentation as “Peer 1” — commanding 34%. While ZEEL did not explicitly name Peer 1, it is widely understood to be the JioStar entity, given the lack of any other significant consolidation in recent times.

Alongside its structural and branding shifts, ZEEL has also laid out an ambitious roadmap to recover and grow its core revenues. Despite a challenging FY25 — where total advertising revenue declined by 11.4% to ?3,591 crore from ?4,057 crore in FY24 — the company is aiming to double its domestic linear ad revenue by FY28. For the near term, it has targeted an 8–10% rise in ad revenue during FY26, supported by tailored brand solutions, content-level monetization, and improved ad performance through data analytics.

A senior broadcast expert highlighted Zee’s advantage in maintaining cost discipline while producing compelling content — a key differentiator in today’s resource-conscious market.

“Zee has always created content in a cost-effective manner and continues to produce good content, hold market share, and remain profitable,” the expert said, adding that “The era of big-ticket content is over. Now is the time to make crisp, high-quality content at a realistic cost, especially as ad revenue is limited and subscription revenue isn’t growing. Zee has been doing this successfully for years. It is likely they will continue with this model and generate decent cash flows, which can be reinvested into content and help them stay competitive.”

In its investor presentation submitted to the BSE on June 20, ZEEL underscored the scale and financial muscle of Peer 1, which is backed by a parent group with a market capitalization of over ?20 lakh crore. ZEEL noted that its competitor has received a capital infusion of ?12,000 crore and is expected to invest more than ?85,000 crore in content over the next three years. It also enjoys the advantage of a deeply integrated ecosystem — spanning telecom, OTT, and cable distribution.

In contrast, ZEEL positioned itself as the most profitable broadcast network in the country, even without a presence in sports broadcasting. The company emphasized that it is actively executing a multi-year growth strategy aimed at deepening its footprint in general entertainment and maintaining its competitive edge. As of the end of FY25, ZEEL reported cash and cash equivalents of ?2,406 crore and said it is focused on building a strong reserve to manage market volatility and fund future growth.

The company acknowledged that traditional media boundaries are fading, with the rise of full-stack models that combine linear television and digital platforms. ZEEL sees this evolution as both a challenge and an opportunity. It noted that both domestic and global players are pouring significant capital into general entertainment and sports content to drive subscriber growth. Short-form content, in particular, has seen a spike in demand, fueled by the rise of social media and mobile-first consumption habits. ZEEL views this as a chance to monetize content across both conventional and emerging formats.

In line with this vision, ZEEL is positioning itself as a complete media and entertainment flywheel. It is investing in new business lines such as micro dramas, user-generated content, live events, edutainment, and even emerging sports to diversify audiences and revenue streams. The company is also building a new distribution model to reach more viewers and is open to inorganic growth — including acquisitions and partnerships — especially in high-growth segments like digital and music.

The roadmap laid out by ZEEL places scalability, profitability, and synergy at the heart of its expansion plans. The company aims to surpass its peak earnings per share of ?16.5, achieved in FY2019, within the next three years. The strategy includes enhancing profitability through carefully deployed capital and increasing investments in both long-form and short-form content to serve multiple age groups.

ZEEL has reaffirmed its goal to drive ZEE5 to breakeven by FY26, despite the platform’s ?548 crore EBITDA loss in FY25. To achieve this, the company is doubling down on execution, strengthening its talent pool, and closely monitoring the competitive landscape. It also intends to optimize treasury operations to generate income from its cash reserves.

Whether ZEEL’s renewed vision will translate into lasting transformation remains to be seen. But for now, with stock analysts, industry veterans, and brand strategists all watching closely, one thing is clear — Zee is determined to stay in the game, not just as a survivor, but as a contender in India’s fast-evolving media ecosystem.

To avoid platform cannibalization and increase reach, ZEEL said it is working to separate TV and OTT content feeds, while also pursuing higher ARPU B2B deals and differentiated pricing strategies. A renewed focus on free-to-air (FTA) channels and monetizing connected TV — expected to reach 76 million households by 2030 — is part of this broader distribution realignment.

Regional markets are a key area of growth for Zee5, with content being scaled across Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam, and Kannada, it said. The company is also exploring new content genres such as mythology, folklore, kids’ programming, religion, and animation. As part of its inclusivity agenda, it is looking to expand into underrepresented regions like North-East India.

The company is also betting big on the rise of user-generated content and the creator economy. With short-form video expected to lead digital engagement, ZEEL plans to scale culturally resonant, creator-led content. Social commerce is also on the radar, with creators increasingly shaping online shopping behavior — a trend the company aims to leverage by positioning itself at the center of this emerging digital ecosystem.

Financially, the company is showing early signs of operational recovery. ZEEL more than doubled its cash generation from ?11.2 billion in FY24 to ?24.1 billion in FY25. It also halved its EBITDA loss, from ?11.1 billion to ?5.5 billion, reflecting improved cost discipline and early gains from its strategic course correction.