News Broadcasting
Network 18 announces film foray; sets up Studio 18
MUMBAI: Network 18, the holding company of TV18 Group, has officially announced its foray into the big money game — movie business.
The company launches Studio 18, a full spectrum division that will mark the group’s entry in the motion picture business. With this the company is also planning to launch a home video label for Studio 18.
The announcement confirms news first put out (in June) by Indiantelevision.com that TV18 promoter Raghav Bahl was floating a company that would be involved in producing and distributing movies.
Studio 18 will look into the aspects of acquisition, production, syndication and distribution of full-length feature films. Based in Mumbai, the company will have its distribution offices in London and New York, according to an official statement.
Studio 18 will be headed by former Sahara-One Motion Pictures COO Sandeep Bhargava while Priti Shahani will lead the marketing division. Additionally, she will also be heading the syndication and distribution business for the company.
The company has also roped in former UTV Motion Pictures VP international & acquisition Ashoka Holla to head the international distribution and acquisitions business. He will also be responsible for launching and driving the Home Video label for Studio 18.
While, former Percept Picture Company production business head Chitra Subramanian, who was instrumental in developing and producing several movies like Hanuman, Malamaal Weekly, and Corporate, will head the production division. She has in the past worked closely with filmmakers like Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Priyadarshan, Nagesh Kukunoor and Madhur Bhandarkar.
Deepti Chawla will head the creative function. She comes with a background in advertising and film-making and can be credited for effective packaging of films like Hanuman, Malamaal Weekly and Corporate.
Sibashish Sarkar has been appointed as CFO. Sarkar has spent 13 years across various FMCG and other industries, working with organizations like Godrej Sara Lee, Shaw Wallace & Hindustan Cables. The last three years have seen him in Entertainment companies like UTV and Percept Picture Company where he has played a strategic role in financial restructuring and been instrumental in setting systems and processes for the business.
Vandana Malik and Sanjay Ray Chadhuri, both founding shareholder-directors of the TV18 Group, will act as creative advisors for Studio 18.
Speaking at the launch, Raghav Bahl, TV 18 Group managing director, said: “We are excited about our entry into India’s dynamic entertainment industry. Studio 18 is a key component in our strategy to transform Network 18 into a full-play media conglomerate, with a leadership position in motion pictures, news broadcasting and internet portals.”
News Broadcasting
News TV viewership jumps 33 per cent as West Asia war draws audiences
BARC Week 8 data shows news share rising to 8 per cent despite T20 World Cup
NEW DELHI: Even as individual television news channel ratings remain under a temporary pause, the genre itself is seeing a clear surge in audience attention.
According to the latest data from Broadcast Audience Research Council India, television news recorded a 33 per cent jump in genre share in Week 8 of 2026, covering February 28 to March 6.
The news genre accounted for 8 per cent of total television viewership during the week, up from 6 per cent the previous week. The spike in attention coincided with escalating geopolitical tensions involving the United States, Israel and Iran, which have kept global headlines firmly fixed on West Asia.
The rise is notable because it came at a time when cricket was dominating television screens. The high-stakes stages of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, including the Super 8 fixtures and semi-finals, were being broadcast during the same period.
Despite the cricket frenzy, viewers appeared to be toggling between sport and global affairs, boosting the overall share of news programming.
The surge in genre share comes even as the government has enforced a one-month pause on publishing ratings for individual news channels. The move followed regulatory scrutiny of the television ratings ecosystem.
While channel-level rankings remain temporarily out of sight, the genre-level data suggests that when global tensions escalate, audiences continue to turn to television news for real-time updates.
