News Broadcasting
Times defers biz channel to next year
NEW DELHI: Their business channel can wait till next year. The Times of India Group is more interested in an entertainment channel to be followed by a spiritual one this year, both of which would carry a nominal subscription fee.
Pointing out that the plans for a business channel have been deferred for the next year, Bennett, Coleman and Co (Ltd) MD Vineet Jain told indiantelevision.com today, “The entertainment channel should be on air by November, followed by the spiritual.”
The channel launch sequence set out by Jain only confirms a report indiantelevision.com had carried in the beginning of April about Times TV’s plans .
Jain added that since the two channels would be digital, decoder boxes would have to be distributed. “There would also be a nominal price charged for the channels,” he said, hinting that both the channels may be clubbed together and sold for distribution purposes.
While the entertainment channel will be called Zoom, names for the spiritual and business channels haven’t seen finalised. Both the proposed channels would be beamed off the PAS-10 satellite.
Without specifying the format of Zoom, the channel to be launched in the last quarter of 2004, Jain said that it would be a general entertainment channel in ‘Hinglish’ (a combination of Hindi and English) as ‘the primary target audience would be in the metros’.
He is confident about a market for this type of an entertainment channel.
Jain clarified, “Even the ad sales team of ours is not aware of the content and format yet.”
Meanwhile, he also confirmed that Arnab Goswami, formerly of NDTV 24×7, has joined the Times’ TV venture as head of programming for the business channel. The group is also looking for Goswami’s counterparts for Zoom and the spiritual channel.
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.
