Zee Entertainment bets on sports, gaming, animation and micro dramas for next growth wave

MUMBAI: Zee Entertainment Enterprises (ZEEL) is looking beyond traditional television for its next growth wave, stepping up investments in sports, animation, visual effects, gaming and emerging formats such as micro dramas.

In its latest annual report, the company said the media and entertainment industry is increasingly being shaped by digital media, gaming, animation and VFX. ZEEL is therefore expanding its portfolio to build new growth engines and capture a larger share of audience attention.

Addressing shareholders, Zee Entertainment Enterprises CEO Punit Goenka said the company was working towards becoming a more diversified content and technology business.

“The growth is being led by new-age segments such as digital media, gaming, animation and VFX,” Goenka said, adding that the company was building a broader portfolio to capture a higher share of the attention economy.

ZEEL is increasing its focus on micro dramas, kids’ programming and live entertainment, which it sees as potential drivers of future growth.

As part of the strategy, the company has entered into a strategic partnership with Oscar-winning animation and VFX studio PhantomFX. The partnership is aimed at strengthening ZEEL’s content creation capabilities across genres including kids, mythology and fantasy.

“We believe the partnership will enable your company to create richer intellectual properties in the animated content segment that is witnessing exponential growth across the Nation,” Goenka said.

The company is also betting on sports as another major growth pillar. ZEEL has launched four dedicated sports channels under the Unite8 Sports umbrella, with an aim to create a broader sports ecosystem and increase engagement around major sporting properties.

Its sports portfolio now includes rights to international events and competitions, including FIFA tournaments, Germany’s Bundesliga and Italy’s Serie A football leagues.

“Our aim is to build a sustainable sports ecosystem across the Nation, by driving higher engagement through marquee properties and uplifting sports through purposeful on-ground initiatives,” Goenka said.

The company’s digital platform ZEE5 turned profitable in FY26, helped by a language-focused content strategy, a stronger content slate and improvements to the user experience.

Goenka said the company expects its newer businesses to complement its existing portfolio and create greater cross-synergies.

“Going forward, we firmly believe that these new segments will accelerate growth for your company and complement the overall portfolio to drive stronger cross-synergies,” he said.

Meanwhile, ZEEL’s traditional television business continued to face a challenging advertising environment, with reduced spending from some key categories. Despite this, the company’s network share increased by 60 basis points during the year to 17.4%, supported by gains in Hindi and other regional markets.

Subscription revenue also received some support from the implementation of New Tariff Order 3.0.

ZEEL said its omni-channel strategy helped it reach more than 800 million monthly unique viewers across India. With television remaining a major part of its business, the company is now building its next act around a wider mix of sports, digital, animation, gaming and emerging formats.