News Broadcasting
NDA, Modi ahead of UPA if polls held now: ABP News-Nielsen Survey
NEW DELHI: According to the latest survey conducted by ABP News-Nieslen, if the Lok Sabha elections were to be held now, 40% respondents intend to vote for NDA and only 27% would vote for UPA.
These statistics observed from the respondents could be a major setback for PM Manmohan Singh as his performance has been rated below average; people in North zone have rated his performance even poorer.
Prime Minister’s performance is rated below UPA-II government’s performance.
BJP wins support (36%); higher in North (48%) and among youngsters (40%) and affluent (44% among SEC A).
Mixed response on UPA II performance; North zone and older generation (51+) are the unhappiest lot.
40% respondents feel that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is responsible for poor economic situation of the country. In south Zone 45% feel that it is Finance Minister – P. Chidambram who is responsible.
BJP emerges as a clear winner across all zones (more so in North and West zones) and gender. Major support is seen gained from younger lot (18-30 years). Congress, however, is neck and neck with BJP in the Southern zone.
Major fraction (42%) of people in North zone are unhappy with the performance of UPA-II. People in age group 51+ years seem to be least happy with UPA-II, and this could be the reason for increase in margin of votes (from 3% in favour of BJP in 2009 to 8% now in favour of BJP) for BJP and INC amongst 51+ years age group.
Across zone, gender and age people have rated Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s performance slightly below UPA-II government’s performance.
At an overall level people are in support of Food security Bill and (48%) feel that it is a step in the right direction.
Modi leading the race for PM post
More than 60% have rated Narendra Modi’s performance as good/ very good; much higher among younger age group and affluent. His performance is rated much higher among people from Gujarat.
People feel that both INC and BJP are equally responsible for communalization of politics (29%)
Narendra Modi is leading the race (47%) for Prime Minister followed by Rahul Gandhi and Manmohan Singh. Modi is popular among voters form North, younger generation and affluents.
Gujarat’s Chief Minister has a strong support base not just in West Zone (70% rated his performance as ‘Very good’ or ‘Good’) but across other zones as well, with an overall mean score of 3.9
79% of respondents in Gujarat have rated Narendra Modi’s performance as ‘Very good’ or ‘Good’, with a mean score of 4.3
Across all zones except South, Narendra Modi emerges as the clear choice of the people for the position of Prime Minister of India. In South zone, it is neck and neck between Narendra Modi and Rahul Gandhi.
Majority of the respondents all across feel that Narendra Modi should be BJP’s Prime Ministerial candidate for the 2014 Lok Sabha elections
In a scenario where it a competition between Priyanka Gandhi and Narendra Modi, BJP seems to be gaining more than Congress, even greater that it would have gained had it been some other candidate from Congress vs Modi, but we also observe no change in support base of Congress.
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.
