Revenue from operations rose 2.5% to Rs 2,028.40 crore in quarter ended 30 September 2022 from Rs 1,978.79 crore posted in the same period a year ago.

The company's revenue from Advertisement was at Rs 1012.78 crore (down 7.02% YoY), revenue from Subscription stood at Rs (up 4.24% YoY) and revenue from Other sales and services was Rs 193.69 (up 91.79% YoY) during the quarter.

ZEEL said that advertising revenue growth for the quarter impacted by FTA withdrawal (Zee Anmol) and challenging macro economic environment.

Meanwhile, subscription revenue was aided by catchup revenue from previous quarter in linear business and underlying organic growth in Zeee5 and Music. The rise in Other sales and services revenue was mainly driven by theatrical revenues and others syndication deals, the company added.

Consolidated profit before exceptional items stood at Rs 223.62 crore in Q2 FY23 as compared to Rs 373.04 crore reported in the corresponding quarter previous year.

EBITDA dropped 27.9% to Rs 297.3 crore in Q2 FY23 from Rs 412.1 crore posted in Q2 FY22. The decrease in the EBITDA was impacted by slower growth in revenue and elevated investment in content, marketing and technology. EBITDA margin declined to 14.7% in Q2 FY23 as compared to 20.8% in Q2 FY22.

Total expenses rose 11.29% to Rs 1822.33 crore in Q2 FY23. Advertisement and publicity expenses grew 29.39% to Rs 316.90 crore in Q2 FY23 from Rs 244.92 crore in Q2 FY22.

The company said that the programming and technology cost increased on a YoY basis, due to higher theatrical releases, investment in Zee5 and higher programming hours in linear business.

The increase in marketing cost on a YoY basis was on account of new launches and higher theatrical releases, the company added.

Zee Entertainment Enterprises (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.