Zee Entertainment stock price surged 20% in 5 days. What’s behind the rally?
The stock has surged 20 per cent in the last five sessions to hit a nearly six-month high of Rs 99.44 each on Monday morning. The company’s market capitalization increased to Rs 9,551 crore.
What is driving Zee’s stock price rise?
The latest surge comes amid rumors that the company is close to a deal to secure Indian media rights for the 2026 FIFA World Cup after Reliance Industries’ JioStar was eliminated from the race. In an exchange document released last week, Zee confirmed that it is in talks with FIFA to broadcast and stream the World Cup in India as part of its efforts to “build competitive sports content”. The 2026 FIFA World Cup will be held from June 11 to July 19 in the United States, Canada and Mexico. Sources familiar with the matter told The Economic Times that JioStar withdrew its final offer of around $15 million, citing insufficient time between the signing of the contract and the start of the tournament, limiting its time to generate revenue.
Notably, Zee quit sports broadcasting in 2016 after selling Ten Sports to Sony Pictures Networks India for $385 million. Zee re-entered sports in 2021 by acquiring the long-term global media rights of the International League T20 (ILT20) in a deal estimated to be worth $100-150 million, signaling its intention to rebuild its sports portfolio.
The broadcaster is now increasing its focus on sports with plans to launch four channels – Unite8 Sports 1 and Unite8 Sports 1 HD (Hindi), Unite8 Sports 2 and Unite8 Sports 2 HD (English).
stock price
Zee shares soared more than 20% in a week and 11% in a month. So far in 2026, the stock price has risen about 10%. But over the long term, the stock has fallen nearly 24% in one year, 48% in three years, and more than 53% in five years.
The stock currently has a P/E ratio of over 32x.
Zee Revenue Snapshot
In early May, Zee Entertainment Enterprises had reported a consolidated net loss of Rs 104 crore for the January-March quarter of FY26, against a net profit of Rs 188 crore in the year-ago quarter. The media and entertainment company’s operating revenue declined 7 per cent to Rs 2,025 crore in the fourth quarter of FY26 compared to Rs 2,184 crore posted by the company in the corresponding quarter of last fiscal.
EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) loss stood at Rs 26.9 billion compared to Rs 28.5 billion in Q4-25 and Rs 24 billion in Q3-26. Adjusted EBITDA decreased 51% year-over-year and 42% quarter-over-quarter.
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