News Broadcasting
AIR peps up mkting for its archives, releases 3 CD titles
NEW DELHI: Good news for lovers of Indian classical music. In an effort to up the marketing activities relating to its archives, All India Radio has released three more CD titles under the Akashvani Sangeet series from its rich National Sound Archive.
The titles released yesterday were of Pandit V G Jog, Vidushi Siddheshwari Devi and Bhajanavali. Noted vocalist Shanno Khurana presented the first copies of the CDs to Dr N Rajam, violin maestro, Savita Devi, daughter of late Siddheshwari Devi and Pandit Rajan and Pandit Sajan Mishra, renowned vocalists.
A Doordarshan Archives title – Rudraveena by Ustad Asad Ali Khan – was also released on the occasion. Ustad Asad Ali Khan was present to receive the first copy. Information and broadcasting minister Jaipal Reddy, I&B ministry secretary Navin Chawla,Prasar Bharati CEO K S Sarma and DD and AIR DGs, respectively, Navin Kumar and Brijeshwar Singh were present during an evening of classical music yesterday.
The CDs priced Rs 195 and cassettes priced Rs 95, along with the previous titles like D V Paluskar, DV Naidu, Pandit Omkarnath Thakur, Pannalal Ghosh, Ustad Aziz Ahmed Khan Warsi, Musiri Subramania Iyer and Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer, will be available at all leading AIR and Doordarshan centres across India.
The National Sound Archive in All India Radio is one of the largest audio archives in the world. Though radio broadcasting began in South Asia seven decades ago, the act of archiving began seriously only in 1960s. Today, All India Radio has more than 10,000 hours of recordings of music. It is the only source where a music lover can lay his hands on any
legendary musician who has played a role in evolving a music tradition in the country. It has rare recordings of Ustad Bundu Khan, Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan, Baba Allauddin Khan, Munavar Ali Khan, Maharajapuram Vishwanatha Iyer, T Bala Saraswathi etc.
One of the major technological progresses has been the digitization of All India Radio archives. The recordings stored in the analog tapes have been transferred into compact disc and wave format. All India Radio’s decision to bring out the archival recordings for public consumption has been welcomed by different quarters in India as well as abroad. The thrust now is on improving marketing and distribution network through music stores, Internet etc.
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.
