As he turns 75, Chandra is raring to get Z to make a comeback

MUMBAI: Subhash Chandra is not slowing down. As he hits  75 on 30 November,  the founder of India’s Zee network is as fired up as he was when he took on state broadcaster Doordarshan in the 1990s. Never mind that the share price languishes below Rs 100. Never mind the setbacks. Chandra is all in.

The proof is everywhere. Zee TV has hit a three-year high in urban market share: 14.7 per cent  in Q2FY26. Four new fiction shows command 40 per cent of the top ten slots in pay Hindi general entertainment. “Tumm Se Tumm Tak”, “Vasudha”, “Ganga Mai Ki Betiyan” and “Jaane Anjaane Hum Mile” are drawing eyeballs week after week. Newer launches like “Jagadhatri” and “Lakshmi Niwas” promise more of the same: strong characters, emotional punch, rooted storytelling. Shows like IdeasBaaz, aimed at young startups, are generating buzz on Z5, on its channeols and online. 

But television is yesterday’s war. Chandra has his sights on Gen Z. He has taken a majority stake in Bullitt, a vertical video platform. Money is flowing in.. Elder son Punit Goenka runs the network as CEO. Younger son Amit handles digital. The goal? Break even on streaming by FY26. New genres—documentaries, kids content under KidsZ5—are coming.

Chandra has always been a gambler. He has won big. He has lost big. That is what innovators do. But one thing remains constant: his appetite for the fight. Senior managers say they have not seen him this charged in years. The network even rebranded as “Z” to court younger audiences.

Some entrepreneurs retire gracefully. Chandra is still at the helm, steering hard into choppy waters. At 75, he is betting everything—again.