Pick up in ad revenue growth, regional share key for Zee Entertainment

Street will also keep an eye out on cash flow improvement in the coming quarters

The Zee Entertainment stock was down about 1 per cent, even as the broader markets were up, because of a muted operating performance in the September quarter, provisions related to Siti Networks, and market share loss in key regional genres. The pace of advertising recovery, improvement in cash flows, and monetisation of over-the-top application ZEE5 are the near-term drivers for the stock.

The company’s operating profit in Q2 was down by more than half due to pressure on advertising rates, jump in marketing spends, and the Rs 81 crore provision related to Siti Network. The higher advertising and marketing spends was