News Broadcasting
Vajpayee leads says Zee News opinion poll
MUMBAI: With elections around the corner, it seems like a busy month ahead for the news channels. So while the channel have already churned out a variety of election special programming, latest on the election special agenda seem to be the opinion polls. Following the heels of NDTV, Zee News is all set to release results of its Taleem opinion poll.
According to the data collated, while Vajpayee leads the popularity data, a majority of the public is still undecided on their choice of party.
Interestingly, data indicates that 73 per cent Indians haven’t heard about BJP’s “Feel Good” campaign.
As for opinion about the electorial results, 31.1 per cent of the sample population have decided to vote for the NDA, 24.6 per cent for Congress and allies and 18.8 per cent for Third Front. But a crucial 25.5 per cent preferred not to disclose their minds, says a release issued by the company.
The release elaborates that 45 per cent of the people feel the NDA will come to power again, while 25 per cent think that Congress and allies will pick the baton. A mere Six per cent feels that Third Front will form the government but a sizeable 24 per cent were still unsure.
The poll indicates that NDA may bag 265+ seats, Congress and its allies 196+ seats, while others may get 75.
The pre-poll survey was conducted by Zee News-Taleem through stratified random sampling technique covering 65 parliamentary constituencies across the country barring, Jammu and Kashmir, Arunachal Pradesh, Tripura, Andaman and Nicobar and Lakshwadeep Islands. Both urban and rural voters with a proportionate number of SC/ST constituencies were selected.
The team had selected four assembly segments in each parliamentary constituency, to conduct the study. Within each segment, two polling booths were randomly selected from where 25 voters, whose names appear in the 2004 voters list, were randomly picked. The only exception to this was Jharkhand. The data were collected by a team of over 260 social scientists, informs the release.
Of the 13,000 respondents, data were collected from 12,788 between 15-20 March with the exception of Tamil Nadu, where the survey was conducted between 21-23 March. There was just one glitch, respondents comprised larger number of males than females compared to national sex ratio. Despite that, Zee is sure of the analysis as the data was randomly selected.
As per the data, the biggest issues in these elections will be infrastructure and water with 71 per cent voicing the same, unemployment and poverty stand at 66 per cent and economic development at 57 per cents. The much-hyped Indo-Pak relations are of 27 per cent consequence and the Hindutva card seems played out at 21per cent.
While 34 per cent of the sample population have a positive opinion of the NDA government, 28 per cent people give it an average on performance, 11 per cent give it a minus and 27 per cent are undecided.
Besides “Feel good” campaing, another interesting observation was that about Advani’s flogging popularity. While Atal Bihari Vajpayee continued to be a popular choice with 51 per cent votes, Sonia Gandhi was second with 28 per cent. Advani was placed on the same podium as Mayawati, Mulayam Singh and Laloo Yadav at 2 per cent.
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.
