News Broadcasting
Times group offloads Mid-Day stake in the open market
MUMBAI: The signals are mixed, but they undoubtedly are there. While one media company announced a 10 per cent buy out of equity stake in Mid-Day Multimedia Ltd (MML) for Rs 255.4 million, another one sold part of its shareholding in Mid-Day late last week.
Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd (BCCL), which had acquired 7.72 per cent equity stake in MML a while back, offloaded 13,88,313 shares of Mid-Day Multimedia Ltd in the open market.
The BCCL deal that took place on 4 March, a day after The Indian Express picked up 10 per cent stake in the company, was struck at Rs 85.69 per share.
BCCL, which owns The Times of India and other popular print publications, carried out the deal through Banhem Financial & Investment Consultants Limited, an investment arm of the media company. After the sale of shares, its holding in Mid-Day Multimedia, along with Dharmayug Investments Limited, is 22,95,466 shares, according to a posting on the National Stock Exchange.
On being queried on the sale and purchase of Mid-Day shares, Mid-Day Multimedia MD Tariq Ansari did not offer any comments. To another query on whether there could be some synergy between Mid-Day and the Express, Ansari said through e-mail, ” Yes it will. A committee is being formed to evaluate the process and put together a proposal for the company’s board to consider.”
A media stock analyst with a Mumbai-based investment company, while commenting on sale of Mid-Day shares by BCCL, opined that the shedding of Times group stake is indicative of “reduced possibilities between two media corporate houses ( Times and Express ) for fight of control in MML in the immediate future.”
On 3 March, Mid-Day had informed the stock exchange that The Indian Express has bought 10 per cent equity in the company for Rs 255.4 million.
The promoters of Mid-Day (through companies Ferari Investments and Trading and Meridian Holding and Leasing) have agreed to sell 42,56,628 shares of the company at a price of Rs 60 per share to The Indian Express. The post transaction holding of the promoters would be 53.6 per cent.
News Broadcasting
Times Network to air JVC Exit Poll across 5 regions on April 29
Four-hour broadcast spans states and Puducherry with data-led analysis
MUMBAI: Times Network is set to roll out what it calls one of its most expansive election programming efforts yet, culminating in the JVC Exit Poll on 29 April, with a multi-hour broadcast spanning key poll-bound regions.
The exit poll will air across Times Now and Times Now Navbharat, beginning at 5pm and 4pm respectively. Co-powered by Vedanta and Jindal Stainless, the programming aims to combine on-ground reportage with data-driven projections across West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Assam and Puducherry.
The network has deployed over 50 journalists across these regions, gathering voter sentiment and local insights in the run-up to polling. The effort builds on its ongoing election formats such as Election Yatra and Election Premier League, which have tracked campaign narratives and community-level issues.
In parallel, Times Now Navbharat has focused on constituency-level reporting in West Bengal through its Jan Gan ka Mann series, capturing voter opinions across diverse segments.
The coverage has also featured interviews with prominent political leaders. Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan and Congress leaders Ramesh Chennithala and V D Satheesan have appeared on the network’s election specials. From Tamil Nadu, voices including deputy chief minister Udhayanidhi Stalin, DMK MP Dayanidhi Maran, BJP leader K Annamalai and NTK’s Seeman have also featured in discussions.
On the day of the exit poll, the network’s primetime anchors, including Navika Kumar, Zakka Jacob and Sumit Awasthi, will lead the coverage. They will be joined by a panel of political analysts, psephologists and senior journalists offering real-time insights and interpretation of trends.
The programming will integrate grassroots reportage with analytics from the JVC Exit Poll, aiming to give viewers an early sense of electoral outcomes ahead of the official results on 4 May.
With its combined English and Hindi broadcast reach, Times Network is positioning this effort as a comprehensive look at voter sentiment, blending field reporting, data and debate to decode what could lie ahead when the final mandate is revealed.
