Zee Entertainment’s Q3 profit more than doubles, boosted by subscriptions

Bengaluru: Zee Entertainment Enterprises’ third-quarter profit more than doubled as a pick-up in subscriptions offset a soft advertising environment, the Indian broadcaster reported on Tuesday, in its first results since its failed merger with Sony India.

Zee’s profit rose to 585 million rupees ($7.05 million) for the three months ended Dec. 31 from 243.2 million rupees a year ago.

The results come weeks after Sony scrapped its merger with Zee, ending a deal that could have created one of India’s biggest TV broadcasters, alleging breaches of contract.

Third-quarter subscription revenue was aided by the recognition of 590 million rupees from Siti Network, which belongs to Essel Group, Zee said in a statement.