News Broadcasting
Crest attempts to put life into DD Bharati
Crest Communications has a difficult task on hand. It is responsible for the packaging and look of the three month old DD Bharati, the channel that curently has an average of 90 minutes of original programming a day.
Conceived as a complete cultural infotainment channel, Bharati started off with promises of fresh software induction, but currently, over 90 per cent of the programming on Bharati is between five to seven years old.
Says Crest Communications COO North Reena Asok, Bharati’s three-point focus of health (in the morning), kids (afternoon) and art and culture (in the evening onwards) is being catered to by the various regional DD kendras as well as sundry national institutions linked to culture, art and science. All three segments are marked by distinct colour identities, while a uniform overall look is maintained for the entire channel, keeping in mind the ‘one fabric, three threads’ theme. While the animation major is responsible for the overall look, promos, channel IDs, segment IDs, bumpers there is another area where it has to do a lot of work – remastering and upgrading the tapes that are available for telecast, and recapsuling the available content.
According to Asok, because of the paucity of any worthwhile content, it is only the packaging that is helping to get in whatever little sampling of the channel that is on now.
News Broadcasting
UDF poised to return to power in Kerala, says Manorama-CVoter survey
Massive opinion poll projects shift in Kerala politics ahead of 2026 Assembly elections.
MUMBAI: The winds of change appear to be blowing through Kerala’s political landscape and this time, they seem to favour the United Democratic Front. A comprehensive mega opinion survey conducted by Manorama News in partnership with CVoter projects a potential comeback for the UDF in the upcoming Kerala Legislative Assembly Elections 2026. The survey, covering all 140 constituencies with a massive sample size of nearly 90,000 respondents, predicts the UDF could win between 69 and 81 seats.
The ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF) is expected to secure 57 to 69 seats, a significant drop from the 99 seats it won in the 2021 elections. This would mean the LDF losing 30 to 42 of its sitting seats. Meanwhile, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), which drew a blank in 2021, is projected to open its account with 1 to 5 seats.
Region-wise, the UDF is expected to make strong gains in Malabar, winning 25 to 34 out of 48 seats, and in Central Kerala, where it could bag 29 to 33 out of 53 seats. In South Kerala, the LDF is likely to retain an edge with 21 to 25 seats, while the UDF may improve to 12 to 16 seats. The NDA could pick up 1 to 3 seats in the southern region.
The survey was conducted between 14 and 26 March 2026, with additional tracker and snap polls carried out from December 2025 to March 2026. A total of 89,693 respondents participated, ensuring representation across all demographics and social segments.
Manorama News has a strong track record of accuracy, with its previous projections closely matching the actual results of the 2019 and 2024 Lok Sabha elections as well as the 2021 Kerala Assembly polls.
In Kerala’s famously fierce political battles, this survey suggests the pendulum may be swinging back. Whether the final verdict matches these numbers or throws up another surprise, one thing is clear, the 2026 Assembly elections are shaping up to be one of the most keenly watched contests in the state’s history.
