Revenue from operations in Q2 FY24 was at Rs 2437.79 crore, registering a growth of 20.45% from Rs 2,023.89 crore recorded in the same period a year ago.

The company's revenue from Advertisement was at Rs 979.17 crore (down 3.3% YoY), revenue from Subscription stood at Rs 887.83 crore (up 8.02% YoY) and revenue from Other sales and services was at Rs 258.92 crore (up 201.46% YoY) during the period under review.

Domestic Ad revenues came in at Rs 941.1 crore, down 2.1% YoY. While some early pick up in Ad spending was witnessed led by FMCG during Q2, overall pace of Ad environment recovery continues to be slow. Ad revenue were also impacted by busy cricket season (Asia Cup, ICC World Cup), said the company.

Meanwhile, subscription revenue increased due to pick up in linear subscription revenue post NTO 3.0 & ZEE5.

The rise in other sales and services revenue was aided by higher syndication and strong theatrical performance of movies, it added.

Profit before exceptional items and tax grew 22.59% to Rs 303.98 crore in Q2 FY24 as against Rs 247.97crore reported in Q2 FY23. The company recorded an exceptional loss of Rs 119.75 crore during the quarter.

EBITDA increased by 5.7% year on year to Rs 332.8 crore in the quarter ended 30 September 2023. EBITDA margin reduced to 13.6% in Q2 FY24 as compared to 15.6% reported in the same period a year ago. The decrease in the EBITDA was impacted by increase in Content Cost and Investment in ZEE5.

Total expenses rose 23.03% YoY to Rs 2,205.67crore in Q2 FY24. Advertisement and publicity (A&P) expenses was at Rs 273.05 crore (down 13.33% YoY), operational cost stood at Rs 1425.41 crore (up 40.21% YoY) during the quarter.

The company said that the programming and technology cost increased YoY due to higher content cost in movies (including theatrical releases) and investment in ZEE5.

Marketing cost increased YoY primarily driven by increase in spend on movie releases and new shows, the firm stated.

ZEEL is a media & entertainment company offering entertainment content to diverse audiences. It is present across broadcasting, movies, music, digital, live entertainment, and theatre businesses, both within India and overseas.