News Broadcasting
ABU Prizes 2004 TV finalists announced
MUMBAI: A five-member pre-selection jury for the Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union (ABU) Prizes 2004 competition has announced the finalists in four TV categories and the nominees for a new Special Jury Award introduced this year.
A total of 88 television entries from 36 organisations were screened over a three-day pre-selection process in the second week of August in Kuala Lumpur.
Twenty-five entries will compete at the final round of judging in the Drama, Entertainment, Children and Youth and News and Documentary categories, while five programmes will vie for the new Special Jury Award.
Entries for the Sports (TV) category will be judged by a separate jury by correspondence.
The pre-selection jury, chaired by Dr Nawiyah Che Lah of RTM-Malaysia, comprised Jun Ogawa of TBS-Japan, Arman Karabayev of Khabar Agency-Kazakhstan, Kim Kyung Hee of KBS-Rep. of Korea and Erol Eldem of TRT-Turkey.
A total of 163 television and radio entries from 52 organisations were submitted for this year’s competition – an increase of almost 50 per cent over last year’s submissions. The encouraging figures are seen as a reflection of the ABU members’ growing interest in this international competition.
“I am delighted and impressed to see this improvement in the ABU prizes. The number of entries is much higher than last year’s, and the quality of the programmes has risen noticeably, especially for Drama and News and Documentary,” said Dr Nawiyah Che Lah, who has served as jury member for six ABU Prize competitions.
The final judging for the ABU Prizes 2004 (Radio and TV) will be held on 20-21September, followed by the award ceremony on 25 September in Almaty, Kazakhstan, in conjunction with the 41st ABU general assembly.
The TV finalists for the ABU Prizes 2004 are:
Drama (6 programmes)
1Blade Heart (TVB-Hong Kong)
2 Bunshiro and Fuku – Episode 2: Partings (NHK-Japan)
3 Waiting for the First Train (KBS-Rep. of Korea)
4 Separation (SBS-Rep. of Korea)
5 The Insiders Guide to Happiness – Episode 6 (TVNZ-New Zealand)
6 A Bird Flew from the Nest (TRT-Turkey)
Entertainment (5 programmes)
1 The Fountain of Trivia (Fuji TV-Japan)
2 Can You Speak English Special – Samurai English (NHK-Japan)
3 Korea, Korea – Meet The Pyongyang (EBS-Rep. of Korea)
4 Love House (MBC-Rep. of Korea)
5 Explorace – The Extreme Journey (TV3-Malaysia)
Children and Youth (7 programmes)
1 Tom & the Slice of Bread with Strawberry Jam & Honey (ARD/SWR-Germany)
2 Preschool – Learn to Fly – Runaway Ice Cream (RTHK-Hong Kong)
3 A Rebel at His Alma Mater (NAB/HBC-Japan)
4 Electricity (KA-Kazakhstan)
5 Science Battle (EBS-Rep. of Korea)
6 My Brother (KBS-Rep. of Korea)
7 The Apple Tree Scholarship (MBC-Rep. of Korea)
News and Documentary (7 programmes)
1 Foreign Correspondent – Japanese Justice (ABC-Australia)
2 Metropolis – The Power of Cities: Carthage (ZDF-Germany)
3 The Man Who Fought Against SARS (NHK-Japan)
4 Family Bond – Give Us Back Our Father! (TBS-Japan)
5 The Small Corner (KA-Kazakhstan)
6 The World Unseen – The Microscopic World (EBS-Rep. of Korea)
7 The Children Lived Happily Ever After (KBS-Rep. of Korea)
Special Jury Award (5 programmes)
Ø Tiny Statues, Big Dreams (BBS-Bhutan)
Ø Raging Flood (Fiji TV-Fiji)
Ø And Blind Said (NTRC-Kyrgyzstan)
Ø One Day of Young Priest (MRTV-Mongolia)
Ø Rhythm of Ruhuna (SLRC-Sri Lanka)
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.
