Zee Entertainment hits record 18.2% linear TV market share in July

ZEEL achieved its highest linear TV market share in four years at 18.2% in July, driven by regional leadership, new channel launches and a strong content slate

Zee Entertainment Enterprises (ZEEL), citing data from the Broadcast Audience Research Council India (BARC), said its market share in the linear television (TV) segment rose to 18.2 per cent in July, its highest in four years.

 

The growth was driven by the company’s strategic content approach and a strong presence in regional markets such as Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal.

 

According to ZEEL’s stock exchange filings, the broadcaster held a TV market share of 16.8 per cent in FY23, 17.1 per cent in FY24 and 16.8 per cent in FY25. ZEEL currently has a portfolio of 50 domestic channels offering original content across 11 languages.

 

 

The Mumbai-based company said it reached 99 per cent of TV households in the country, covering 885 million people. The announcement came a month after ZEEL launched two new hybrid regional channels — Zee Power (Kannada) and Zee Bangla Sonar (Bengali) — to expand its audience reach amid changing viewer preferences.

 

ZEEL further said it remained the fastest-growing network in South India, with a share of 17.2 per cent in FY26 year-to-date till July 2025, nearly 3 percentage points higher than FY22.

 

“It is heartening to see that our efforts to build a compelling content slate blending original shows with superhit movies across languages is bearing fruit,” Raghavendra Hunsur, chief content officer, ZEEL, said in a statement. “Our sharp focus on storytelling rooted in culture, yet crafted for an evolving viewer appetite, has enabled us to drive growth and build deeper connect. From Hindi shows like Tumm Se Tumm Tak to language offerings like Karna, Karthigai Deepam and Parineeta, our content is setting new benchmarks across the country. The fact that eight of our channels are No. 1 is a testament to the power of our creative vision, and we will continue to build on this strength with innovative and purposeful content offerings.”

 

The company added that its Hindi movies cluster, through Zee Cinema, contributed significantly to overall network viewership, delivering the highest share. Zee Cinema’s world TV premiere of Pushpa 2: The Rule in Hindi was the biggest in FY26 year-to-date, giving a major boost to channel viewership. In the lifestyle genre, Zee Zest maintained its leadership position for the third year in a row, supported by original content and intellectual properties (IPs).

 

Zee Kannada retained its leadership in Kannada general entertainment channels (GECs) with an all-time high share of 44 per cent in FY26 year-to-date till July 2025. In Tamil Nadu, Zee Tamil reached a historic high in the Tamil GEC segment, while Zee Telugu remained the largest channel in Hyderabad across all genres. In the east, Zee Bangla Cinema became the top Bangla movie channel in FY26 year-to-date till July 2025.

 

In other regions, Zee Sarthak held its lead in the Odia market as the top GEC for five consecutive years, while Zee Talkies was the number one Marathi movie channel for six years in a row. ZEEL also reported steady gains in the Marathi market, with a refreshed content slate helping Zee Marathi become the fastest-growing Marathi GEC, raising its relative share by 10 per cent over the past two years.

 

Rituparna Dasgupta, executive vice-president, network research and planning, ZEEL, said, “Our robust linear growth story reaffirms our commitment to television as a powerful medium to narrate stories woven into the fabric of everyday life across India and bring generations together in front of one screen.”