But Zee has fallen faster and harder than many. Most analysts do not expect it to recover any time soon. Analysts remain unconvinced about its big bet on the Internet. Lack of transparency, lacklustre financial results and lingering doubts about the depth of the company's management have not helped. Company officials insist that its recent troubles are just a blip on the radar screen.
Advertising revenues continue to rise.
And analysts agree that Zee's brand name and fabled ability to bounce back from adversity mean that it's too early to write it off just yet. Zee's fall echoes the sharp decline in the Bombay Stock Exchange Sensitive Index, or Sensex, since March. Tremors set off by what was happening on Nasdaq were felt acutely in Bombay, where technology, media and telecoms companies had been trading at all-time highs. As investors headed for the exits, Zee came crashing from a high of 1,630 rupees on February 23 to 377 rupees just three months later. The crash has made investors take a closer look at the company.