JioStar and Zee Lean on Subscriptions as TV Advertising Stalls in the Ratings Blackout

India's two biggest broadcasters relied on subscription income in the September 2026 quarter as television advertising failed to grow. Zee Entertainment's ad revenue was flat at ₹803 crore while subscription revenue jumped 30.2%, and JioStar grew operating revenue 10.1% but saw profit fall 13.2%, according to results reported on 30 October 2026 by BestMediaInfo.

Zee: subscriptions now 60% of revenue

• Operating revenue: ₹2,224.6 crore, up 13% from ₹1,969.2 crore.
• Subscription revenue: ₹1,332.4 crore, up 30.2%, or 59.9% of the total.
• Advertising revenue: ₹803 crore, against ₹806.3 crore a year earlier.
• EBITDA: ₹70.8 crore, down 52%, a margin of 3.2% against 7.4%.
• Net profit: ₹45.6 crore, down 40% from ₹76.5 crore.
• Digital (including ZEE5): revenue doubled to ₹626 crore, with EBITDA of ₹41.6 crore against a loss of ₹31.2 crore.

Zee attributed the margin squeeze to higher programming costs, including for FIFA 2026, a wider content slate and new initiatives, BestMediaInfo reported.

JioStar: growth, but lower profit

• Operating revenue: ₹6,806 crore, up 10.1% from ₹6,179 crore.
• EBITDA from operations: ₹1,372 crore, down 10.5%, with the overall EBITDA margin down to 22.1% from 28.1%.
• Profit after tax: ₹1,147 crore, down 13.2% from ₹1,322 crore.
• JioHotstar: about 440 million average monthly active users, up 10%.

JioStar said linear TV advertising revenue remained "under transition" while digital entertainment and sports advertising grew, BestMediaInfo reported; it did not specifically blame the ratings blackout.

The backdrop

BARC's TV ratings have been suspended since March, and TV ad activity fell 8.6% while digital grew 24.5%. Google is meanwhile pitching YouTube on connected TV to the same advertisers, and Zee's chief Punit Goenka has argued that advertisers do not choose channels on ratings alone.