News Broadcasting
Sensex plunges 213 points on poll predictions
MUMBAI: The politicians may dismiss them but the stock markets seem to have reacted and how to the latest opinion and exit polls that all the news channels released following the completion of the third round of polling yesterday.
Indian stocks plunged 3.6 per cent today posting their sharpest fall in over three years most polls predicted that the country was headed for another hung Parliament triggering negative sentiments in the markets on fears that economic reforms might get stalled or delayed.
The Sensex swimming in the red zone was down a whopping 213.30 points to finally close at 5,712.28, a loss of more than $12 billion. The S&P CNX Nifty tanked 75 points or 3.9 per cent to 1,817.25.
An idea of just how severe the bleed at the bourses was can be gauged by the fact that today’s haemorrhage is the sharpest since the stock market scam of March 2001 that was linked to big-time broker Ketan Parekh.
Speaking of media scrips it was a red day all round with almost all stocks on the casualty list. The effects of the exit polls were clearly seen here too.
The major loser of the day was Crest Communication down a whopping 12.19 per cent at Rs 41.05.
Others to follow suit were Saregama and Galaxy Entertainment with a massive loss of over nine per cent ending the day at Rs 49.00 and Rs 27.35 respectively.
Sri Adhikari Brothers, Cinevistaas and Padmalaya Telefilms also lost over seven per cent each closing the day at Rs 59.65, 27.45 and Rs 59.10 respectively.
Amongst other prominent losers were Creative Eye, BAG Films Ltd, Adlabs Films, Balaji Telefilms, TV Today, Pritish Nandy Communications and Zee Telefilms.
So just what were these polls all talking about anyway. Given below are their predictions.
NDTV gave the NDA 235-255 seats, with the Congress and its allies might tipped to get between 190-210 with 100-120 going to others.
Aaj Tak projected the Congress-led camp would get 177 seats, while the NDA tally would be 262 and others would get 104.
Star News predicted that the NDA would get between 267 and 279 parliamentary seats, the Congress and its allies 160-172 and gave 97-109 to others, including the Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party.
Sahara News, which covered the 282 seats that have gone to the polls so far, projected 155 seats for the NDA, 99 for the Congress and the rest for others.
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.
