News Broadcasting
AOL extends open AIM initiative
MUMBAI: American Online Limited (AOL) has extended its Open AIM initiative (http://developer.aim.com) to include support for AIM Bots, location-based services and PC-to-PC voice calling. The update also includes support for developers working on the Mac OS X, Linux, and Pocket PC platforms or with the Java language.
Launched in March of this year, the Open AIM initiative empowers companies, communities and independent developers to build customized plugins, communications clients and mash-ups that access AOL’s global instant messaging network, states an official release.
“Already, more than 45,000 developers are working with the AIM Software Development Kit (SDK) to bring their creativity and ingenuity to the 43 million Americans in the AIM community,” says AOL’s vice president for Instant Messaging Marcien Jenckes. “Today, we are extremely pleased to add AIM Bots as well as voice and location services to the Open AIM toolkit, and to invite developers on the Mac, Linux and Pocket PC platforms to get involved.”
The latest update include:
— AOL has added support for AIM(r) Bots to the Open AIM initiative. With the new Open AIM Bots program, one click can turn any AIM screen name into a bot. AIM Bot sample code has been added to the updated Open AIM SDK in both C++ and Java.
AIM Bots are dedicated, opt-in Screen Names that help developers, marketers and individuals create new connections and establish strong bonds with contacts in the AIM community. In addition, AIM Bots can support audio calls, file transfers and picture sharing. For example, an AIM Bot could be created to let users send pictures or podcasts to their blogs.
AIM Bots respond automatically to instant messages they receive and can maintain IM conversations with multiple users – reaching up to 10,000 people per day – before encountering limits. To prevent IM spam, AIM Bots cannot initiate IMs without permission.
— AOL’s new AIM Location services are now part of the Open AIM SDK. The new application program interfaces (APIs) – with sample code – have been added to the SDK to let developers build location services into clients, plugins and, in the coming weeks, web sites.
— AOL is also giving developers the ability to add AIM Talk’s PC-to-PC voice functionality and multi-party voice chat into their custom AIM clients. For the first time, developers can integrate robust audio features based on the open source sipXtapi SIP stack, from sipfoundry.org, into their applications with a single turnkey solution.
— Finally, AOL has also added Open AIM support for developers working on the Mac OS X, Linux, and Pocket PC platforms, as well as support for the Java language. For complete documentation and to learn more about these Open AIM initiatives, visit http://developer.aim.com/.
The recent open AIM projects include:
— Bandalong Entertainment Inc., an interactive media company, formed an agreement with AOL to release an AIM(r) enabled version of their imstar service, which is now built on the Open AIM platform. imstar is the only lifelike, 3-D avatar-based instant messaging program for teens.
— Doppelganger, designer of the world’s first virtual nightclub, introduced a virtual lounge for music audiences that seamlessly integrates the AIM service. AIM users can log on to a customised version of the AIM client and experience real time communications in Doppelganger’s The Lounge featuring the Pussycat Dolls (http://www.pcdmusiclounge.com).
— Super Computer International, Inc., (http://www.supercomputerinc.com) announced an agreement with AOL to create a customized version of the AIM service called PlayLinc that will optimize the instant messaging (IM) experience for online gamers.
— WebEx Communications, Inc., (http://www.webex.com) the leading provider of on-demand collaborative business applications, teamed with AOL in February of this year to announce the creation of a secure, feature-rich version of the popular AIM service for businesses and at-work instant messaging users.
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.
