Zee Entertainment says the ₹3,144 crore preferential issue will fuel its next phase of growth, with investments planned across digital, sports, AI-powered content, broadband, live events and children’s entertainment after its digital business turned EBITDA profitable in FY26.
Zee Entertainment Enterprises has unveiled an ambitious roadmap for its next phase of growth, outlining plans to deepen investments across digital entertainment, sports, artificial intelligence, broadband and experiential businesses as it seeks shareholder approval to raise ₹3,144 crore through a preferential issue of warrants to promoter group entity Sunbright Mauritius Investments Ltd.
The proposals, which will be placed before shareholders at an Extraordinary General Meeting on July 31, go well beyond a capital infusion. In the explanatory statement accompanying the notice, Zee detailed how the fresh funds are expected to accelerate a strategic transformation that has gathered pace over the past year, as the broadcaster evolves from a traditional television network into a diversified content and technology company.
Digital business reaches an inflection point
A key milestone in that transformation has been the turnaround of Zee’s digital business.
The company said its digital operations turned EBITDA profitable in FY26, compared with an EBITDA loss of ₹548 crore in the previous year, while digital revenue rose 53% year-on-year to ₹1,488.8 crore.
To strengthen its streaming platform, Zee launched seven language packs to deepen its regional content offering and doubled its premium content slate to 127 original shows and movies, signalling a continued push to attract subscribers and advertisers across India’s diverse language markets.
Betting on new content formats and AI
The company is also investing in emerging entertainment formats that it believes will define the next generation of content consumption.
Among them is Bullet, Zee’s vertical micro-drama platform built for mobile-first audiences. The company said the platform has shown encouraging early traction and recently introduced Trinetra AI, positioning it as one of India’s first artificial intelligence-powered filmmaking and content intelligence platforms dedicated to micro dramas.
The investment reflects Zee’s broader strategy of using AI not only to improve production efficiency but also to develop new storytelling formats for younger consumers.
Sports becomes a strategic pillar
Sports is emerging as another major investment priority.
After re-entering sports broadcasting, Zee has acquired rights to properties including ILT20 cricket, the Bengal Super League, UP Kabaddi, the Pickleball League and Pro Govinda, while launching four Unite8 sports channels in Hindi and English across SD and HD formats.
The company has also secured rights to 39 FIFA events through 2034, including the 2026 and 2030 FIFA World Cups, the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup, youth World Cups, Futsal competitions and the Intercontinental Cup.
Zee said it intends to continue investing in premium sports rights while expanding its sports production capabilities and broadcast infrastructure, betting that live sports will attract younger audiences, improve subscription revenues and bring in a broader base of advertisers.
Expanding beyond television
Beyond content, Zee is diversifying into adjacent consumer businesses.
The company said it has entered the live events business to tap growing consumer spending on experiential entertainment, describing the segment as a long-term growth opportunity that remains in the investment phase.
It has also launched KidZ on Z5, a dedicated children’s and edutainment offering aimed at viewers between 6 and 16 years, as it looks to build a trusted destination for younger audiences.
In another strategic move, Zee has expanded into the distribution and broadband business, enabling it to distribute its content directly across more platforms and households while strengthening consumer relationships beyond traditional broadcasting.
Linear television regains momentum
Even as it invests in new businesses, Zee said its traditional television network has strengthened over the past year.
The company said its network market share has climbed to nearly 20%, a multi-year high, driven by investments in new fiction and non-fiction programming that helped it regain leadership in core prime-time slots across multiple languages.
Promoters to infuse fresh capital
To support these initiatives, Zee is seeking approval to issue up to 24.95 crore fully convertible warrants to Sunbright Mauritius Investments at ₹126 per warrant, raising up to ₹3,143.5 crore.
The issue price represents a premium of 11.86% to the price determined under SEBI regulations, 16.33% above the closing market price on the day the board approved the transaction, and 28.61% above the 90-day volume-weighted average price on the NSE.
The warrants will be convertible into equity shares within 18 months, with 25% of the subscription amount payable upfront and the balance payable at the time of conversion.