News Broadcasting
Balaji hunts for fresh talent in mass auditions
MUMBAI:New soaps from the Balaji stable will now showcase new talent.
In a bid to beat the ‘starry’ date problems of the artistes it has spawned and made successes of, and to provide viewers a much needed respite from the familiar faces across serials, India’s hit soap factory has adopted the novel strategy of holding mass auditions.
An advertisement by the production house calling out to ‘pretty faces and handsome men in the age-group of 18 and 28’ in the Sunday morning papers, saw about 900 aspirants make a beeline for the studios yesterday. The mass audition was held in Sankraman Studios, in Goregaon, a suburb in Mumbai .
“Balaji Telefilms has always encouraged new talent. We are looking out for fresh faces for our forthcoming serials, films and projects. Also the problem of getting dates with the regular artistes was one of the main reasons that prompted us to hold a mass audition, ” says Balaji COO Rajesh Pavithran. The production house is keen on launching new faces in lead roles as the regular artistes have been exploited enough, he adds.
“We have about three serials in the pipeline. All three of them are based on entirely new concepts , quite different from the popular ‘saas-bahu’ sagas currently on air,” says Balaji casting director Jeet Chaudhary.
The soap factory hopes to shortlist the candidates within a week.
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.
