News Broadcasting
TV18 strengthens senior management
MUMBAI: The Raghav Bahl promoted Television Eighteen has embarked upon a big and aggressive expansion not only into the online media, but also leveraging on the strengths of the ‘CNBC universe’ in order to cash in on the advertising boom.
Thus, TV18 Media Networks, the ad sales division of the group has realigned ad sales operations to strengthen and capitalize on the TV18 Group’s television, online and mobile media properties.
According to TV18 Media Networks CEO B Saikumar “The kind of growth our TV18 network has seen the challenge now is to do justice to individual products and revenue streams.”
The business news channels, the online ventures, the CNBC bestsellers CD division and Focus (the ground events division have, thus, been grouped under an umbrella brand loosely referred to as the ‘CNBC Universe’.
Streamlining the responsibilities of key professionals like Raj Kamath, Anil Uniyal and Sanjay Dua is one such move in this direction, says Sai Kumar. Reason: create ‘new touch points’ for clients and offer better business solutions, which all would add to the company’s
revenues.
For example, Kamath’s role has been expanded from handling sales activities of CNN-IBN to be in charge of ad sales inventories of the TV18 Network (business and general news channels).
Uniyal, who earlier handled the west and south Indian regions of TV18 business channel, has been given the added responsibility of ‘CNBC Universe’. Dua, who earlier was responsible for north and eastern markets of India for the four channels (CNBC TV18, Awaaz, CNN-IBN & IBN7) will henceforth oversee CNN-IBN and IBN7 and possible local channels in the near future.
This significant change is indication that the group has done away with regional head portfolios and placing four professionals of the company in charge of coordinating the sales activities of various products with each of them reporting into Kamath who is answerable to Sai Kumar.
Reinstated what SaiKumar has said, Kamath adds that through this streamlined process, the clients will be offered an integrated marketing communication via the multi-media platform.
Dua points out that the new structure will ‘help further in creation and optimizing’ of the brand clout of the TV18 Network. Though the Hindi news channel space is cluttered, for Dua IBN7 is bringing in more brands on board that have a national profile instead of mere regional appeal.
The restructuring drive is also aimed at future plans of the TV18 Group, which includes expanding further into the web space through acquisitions and making forays into markets and language that have not been tapped by the company.
As Sai Kumar points out, the group is poised to leap into the next level of growth as newer operations near profitability levels.
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.
