News Broadcasting
B4U Multimedia spins off new company B4U Broadband, seeks global alliances
B4U Multimedia International has spun off a new company B4U Broadband, which will be the vehicle for the company’s broadband plans.
B4U CEO Ravi Gupta made the point clear while clarifying that B4U Multimedia International had not been wound up as reported in the press due to its association with arrested film financier Bharat Shah, a key promoter in the company.
Gupta, however, admitted that one reason for the creation of the company was because national broadcaster Doordarshan was reluctant to continue an association with a company part promoted by a man with alleged links to the underworld.
B4U Broadband will continue to provide the latest blockbusters to DD as per our earlier arrangement,” Gupta confirmed.
Queried whether the Bharat Shah episode had hurt the channel, Gupta said actually revenues in January were better than previous months. “AS to whether they would have been even better without the arrest episode is speculative,” Gupta added.
B4U Broadband will be the vehicle for a number of projects, including DTH, which the company is aggressively pushing through in the coming year, Gupta said. “For the DTH project we have calculated an outlay of Rs 5 billion and we are in talks with various prospective partners. We have to obviously keep in mind the government’s insistence on the 20 per cent sectoral cap as well as foreign equity cap but we are seriously going ahead,” Gupta said.
As to what other plans were on the anvil, Gupta said B4U was going ahead with plans for content delivery via the internet. He however ruled out B4U’s getting into optic fibre cabling on its own. “We will be looking at collaborations with players providing such services”, Gupta said.
“We are also looking at global alliances and towards that end we are in serious talks with British Telecom,” Gupta 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.
