News Broadcasting
17 regional broadcasters get free MPEG-4 slots on DD Free Dish
NEW DELHI: Prasar Bharati has cleared 17 regional television channels for free carriage on DD Free Dish’s MPEG-4 platform, widening access to regional language content on India’s largest free-to-air direct-to-home service.
The allocation, made under the public broadcaster’s 93rd allotment round, will run on a pilot basis until March 31, 2026. The move is aimed at expanding linguistic diversity on DD Free Dish while testing demand ahead of long-term slot allotment norms.
The selected channels include TV9 Kannada, Public TV and Mazhavil Manorama, alongside a strong Bengali slate featuring ABP Ananda, R Bangla, TV9 Bangla, R Plus Gold, Kolkata TV, R Plus Bengali, Enterr 10 Bangla and Khushboo Bangla.
Other regional additions include Kanak News (Odia), ABP Majha and 9X Jhakaas (Marathi), ABP Asmita and Gujarat First (Gujarati), and News State Punjab-Haryana-Himachal (Punjabi).
Under the pilot framework, the channels will be carried on DD Free Dish’s MPEG-4 feeds without carriage fees, giving broadcasters access to the platform’s mass reach while offering viewers a richer regional mix.
The move underlines Prasar Bharati’s push to strengthen regional broadcasting and reinforce DD Free Dish’s role as a key distribution pipe for free television in a fragmenting media market.
(Note: The cover image is AI-generated and is meant for representational purposes only.)
News Broadcasting
Network18 channels lead YouTube news viewership in March 2026
CNN-News18, News18 India and CNBC channels top categories with record views
MUMBAI: When the world hit refresh on breaking news, Network18’s channels were already streaming ahead. As geopolitical tensions and war-driven headlines fuelled a surge in global news consumption, the network’s digital playbook delivered big clocking record Youtube viewership across English, Hindi and business news categories in March 2026.
At the forefront was CNN-News18, which emerged as the clear leader in the English news segment with 130 million live and video-on-demand views. The channel edged past competitors such as Times of India (126.5 million), Times Now (101.1 million), India Today (88.2 million) and NDTV (77.5 million), according to Databeings data for March.
In the Hindi news arena, News18 India delivered a commanding performance, racking up a staggering 3,297 million views on YouTube. The channel comfortably outpaced NDTV India, which recorded 3,119 million views, underlining its deep reach and consistent engagement with mass audiences, as per Playboard data.
The network’s dominance wasn’t confined to general news. In the Hindi business segment, CNBC Awaaz topped the charts with 92 million views, narrowly ahead of Zee Business (90 million) and well ahead of ET Now Swadesh (57 million). Meanwhile, its English counterpart CNBC-TV18 posted a strong 58 million views, reinforcing the network’s cross-category strength.
The spike in viewership reflects a broader shift in audience behaviour, with viewers increasingly turning to digital platforms particularly Youtube for real-time updates and in-depth coverage during high-intensity news cycles. For Network18, the numbers signal more than just scale; they underline the effectiveness of a multi-platform strategy that blends speed, credibility and continuous coverage.
In a month where the news never paused, it seems viewers chose to stay tuned where the stream never stopped.
