Punit Goenka addressed reports about Zee-Sony India merger talks stalling over disagreement on leadership

During the recent Q2 FY24 earnings call, Zee Entertainment Enterprises' managing director and CEO, Punit Goenka, affirmed the strategic value of the Zee-Sony merger. He said, "We recognize the value that the merger holds. Our focus remains on unlocking the opportunities for all the stakeholders.”

Goenka also addressed the speculations over the Zee-Sony merger, delays and reports of Sony indicating that it would have its own executive leading the merged entity instead of Goenka. He said, “We are in active engagement with Sony on various parts of the entire scheme to be finally implemented after all the approvals that we have got.”

Emphasizing a favorable media landscape, he highlighted increased investments fostering growth and anticipating a boost in Q3 due to the festive season.

Touching upon the festive season, Goenka mentioned that this period was likely to result in growth during the third quarter. He also mentioned NTO 3.0 during the call and explained its stabilised implementation. Broadcasters, according to Goenka, remain optimistic of sustaining growth levels in the forthcoming quarters. NTO 3.0 is a tariff order under which broadcasters—allowed by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI)---would raise the prices of channels that are in the bouquet to Rs 19 from Rs 12 earlier.

On the subject of paid TV, Goenka revealed that of the past seven quarters, the share of pay TV was at the apex level which increased by 300 basis points in the last one year.