Shares of Zee Entertainment were hit hard and were trading 6% lower on 10 November after the company reported a 5% decline in net profit. 

The media company reported a 5.3% year-on-year decline in its profit after tax to Rs 129.9 crore for the quarter. 

The revenue from advertising saw a decline of 3.3% to Rs 979 crore for the quarter from Rs 1,012.63 crore reported in the same quarter of the previous fiscal year. The drop in advertising revenue was due to a weak advertising environment.

The total revenue of the company was at Rs 2,509.57 crore for the quarter under review, which is a 22.96% YoY increase from Rs 2,040.87 crore reported in the year-ago quarter. The drop in advertising spending was caused by firms such as edtech, fintech, e-commerce, and food tech, which are posing a challenge for the broadcasting industry. 

The company said that even though there was some pick up in ad spending that was led by FMCG during the July-September quarter. However, the overall outlook of the advertising environment continues to be gloomy. 

Moreover, the advertising revenue was also impacted due to the ongoing cricket session, including tournaments like the Asia Cup and the ongoing ICC World Cup. 

At 3:05 pm, the shares of Zee Entertainment were trading 5.38% below at Rs 248.70 on NSE.