News Broadcasting
Alpha Marathi opinion poll anticipate Congress-NCP to win
MUMBAI: The second phase of an opinion poll on Maharashtra Assembly Elections conducted between 19 to 23 September, found Congress-NCP is anticipated to sweep a clear majority by winning 163 to 169 seats, while Sena-BJP alliance is expected to win 98 to 102 seats.
The outcome of the poll was revealed in a special programme Janadesh on Alpha Marathi channel on Saturday night. The programme will be repeated on Alpha TV on 26 September at 1 pm.
The opinion poll was conducted by Alpha Marathi and Taleem, Ahmedabad based organisation, where 3475 voters from 36 constituencies were interviewed for the poll. However, the study signifies 28 per cent of voters are still undecided on whom to vote or may not vote at all. This number has increased by three per cent over the first phase of the poll, informs the official release.
Alpha Marathi business head Nitin Vaidya says, “The second phase of opinion poll is self explanatory that the voters are looking forward to the Congress-NCP alliance government. It is clearly indicative that the voter’s decision is evolving. Alpha Marathi, decided to undertake this opinion poll with the prime objective of understanding the main issues which the electorate wants to be addressed. Whether the voters are inclined towards INC / NCP ruling party and the likelihood of their returning them to power or to BJP / Shiv Sena alliance.”
The election issues, which concerned the respondents, ranked the order of concern on development (87 per cent), farmers’ related issues (85 per cent), unemployment (84 per cent) and good governance (78 per cent), criminalisation of politics is concerned for 46 per cent respondents, separate Vidarbha 27 per cent and Savarkar controversy 25 per cent. While only 51 per cent respondents have favoured reservations in jobs, only 23 per cent respondents have opined that it was proper to launch Tiranga Yatra, informs the official communiqué.
The poll also highlights that 30 per cent of the respondents favoured chief minister Susheelkumar Shinde over the other contenders, followed by BJP’s Gopinath Munde having support of nine per cent and Uddhav Thacekray having eight per cent. However 34 per cent respondents were unable to say who they would prefer as next chief minister.
According to the poll results, as much as 27 per cent voters plan to vote for Congress followed by 15 per cent for NCP; BJP -Shiv Sena have been favoured by only 12 per cent and 13 per cent respectively. The remaining five per cent voters are distributed among various regional parties, the visible being the Bahujan Samaj Party with two per cent voters opting for it.
When asked on the formation of the next government, around 41 per cent of respondents favoured Congress/NCP, followed by with 26 per cent BJP/Shiv Sena combine will come to power. Here too, the percentage of cannot say is huge 31 per cent.
In the first phase of the opinion poll conducted last month, Congress-NCP combine expected to win 144 seats and Sena-BJP expected to win 128. Other parties and independents were predicted to win 16 seats.
News Broadcasting
Network18 Q4 revenue grows 9.7 per cent, EBITDA at Rs 30 crore
PAT improves to Rs 306.6 crore, margins steady amid cost pressures.
MUMBAI: Not all news is breaking, some of it is quietly improving. Network18 Media & Investments Limited appears to be doing just that, tightening losses and stabilising margins even as costs continue to weigh on the business. For FY26, the company reported revenue from operations of Rs 1,955.1 crore, up from Rs 1,896.2 crore in FY25, signalling modest top-line growth in a challenging media environment. Total income stood at Rs 1,978.2 crore, compared to Rs 1,913 crore a year earlier.
Profit after tax came in at Rs 306.6 crore for the year, a sharp turnaround from Rs 3,225.4 crore in FY25, largely reflecting the absence of large exceptional items that had inflated the previous year’s numbers. On a more comparable basis, the company’s operating performance showed signs of gradual stabilisation.
However, the quarterly picture remained under pressure. For the March quarter, Network18 reported a loss of Rs 53.1 crore, narrower than the Rs 98.1 crore loss in the same period last year, but still indicative of ongoing cost challenges.
Expenses continued to track high. Total expenses for FY26 stood at Rs 2,235.7 crore, up from Rs 2,197.8 crore in FY25. Key cost heads included operational expenses of Rs 765.9 crore, employee benefits of Rs 475.9 crore, and marketing, distribution and promotional spends of Rs 427.1 crore, underlining the continued investment required to sustain reach and engagement.
At an operating level, margins remained under strain. Operating margin stood at 2.33 per cent for FY26, marginally higher than 1.77 per cent in FY25, while net profit margin remained negative at -13.02 per cent, though improved from -14.89 per cent.
On the balance sheet, total assets rose to Rs 8,957.6 crore as of 31 March 2026, from Rs 8,317.5 crore a year earlier. Equity strengthened to Rs 4,958.7 crore, while borrowings increased to Rs 3,112.8 crore, reflecting a higher reliance on debt to support operations.
Cash flows told a mixed story. While financing activities generated Rs 83.9 crore, operating cash flow remained negative at Rs -24 crore, highlighting ongoing pressure on core cash generation. Cash and cash equivalents, however, improved to Rs 33.9 crore from Rs 1.8 crore.
The numbers point to a company in transition growing revenues, trimming losses, but still grappling with structural cost pressures. In a sector where scale often comes at a price, Network18 seems to be inching towards balance, one quarter at a time.
