News Broadcasting
500,000 boost for BBC programmes in England
MUMBAI: BBC has announced an extra half million pound investment in regional independent television productions. The addtitional investment will be spent on a range of new programmes across all 11 BBC regions in England.
BBC English Regions controller Andy Griffee was quoted in an official release saying, “This additional funding is to be spent over the next five months. I hope it will be repeated in the 2004-2005 fiscal. This is a move aimed at building on two very successful years for the BBC’s regional television output. Budgets for content like Inside Out and The Politics Show have increased and now we want to extend our genre range even further. We want to do it almost exclusively with the independent sector across England.”
The new range of programmes includes Local Hero, which shows 40-minute profiles on famous regional personalities who have been chosen by local radio listeners and regional television news viewers. Griffee further anticipated that the additional investment would pay for up to 20 additional programmes each year.
“We will also be choosing particular regions to pilot exciting ideas including news archive based programmes and a number of entertainment, sport and arts ideas,” he said.
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.
