Zomato’s District had big plans for 2026. From producing Colombian singer Shakira’s debut India tour to selling tickets for high-profile concerts of international artists, including rappers Kanye West and Flipperachi.

After all, it’s a great way to mint money and break into a market that has, for long, had just one gatekeeper: Bookmyshow. The Reliance Industries-backed company organised British band Coldplay’s 2025 shows in Mumbai and Ahmedabad. The Ahmedabad show alone is said to have generatedEYIndia’s rising concert economy an “economic impact” of over Rs 640 crore.

Some of District’s events, however, got cancelled or were pushed to another date, thanks to an uncertain geopolitical situation. For a business centred on arranging big, splashy events, this could have been a setback.

But District is unfazed.

“Events are just a part of our business,” Akshant Goyal, Eternal’s (Zomato) chief financial officer, told investors in the latest earnings call held on 28 April. “I don’t think a few delayed concerts will impact our outlook.”

The confidence comes from District’s performance.

In FY26, the first full financial year since its August 2024 launch, District’s revenue of over Rs 970 crore made up barely 1.7% of Eternal’s top line. But in the same period, its weekly active users have grown to over 60% of Bookmyshow’s, cutting the latter’s lead of over two decades.

District wasn’t built from scratch; part of its revenue and users came from fintech giant Paytm’s* entertainment-ticketing business Insider, which Eternal acquired in 2024.

The ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) has further fuelled its rise. District is the exclusive ticketing partner for five of the 10 teams and is selling tickets for nearly half of the 70 league matches this season—more than Bookmyshow’s 25.

That said, District is not in the same game as Bookmyshow. The latter is built around ticketing. Its moat depends on movies and events in a nearly $4 billionImarc GroupIndia Online Event Ticketing Market Size, Share, Trends and Forecast by Platform, Event Type, and Region, 2026-2034 market.

© The Ken