News Broadcasting
BBC World’s ‘Panorama’ recalls ‘friendly fire’ Iraq tragedy
MUMBAI: In April two and a half weeks into this year’s military campaign against Saddam Hussein, the BBC’s World Affairs editor, John Simpson, was accompanying a convoy of US special forces and Kurdish fighters in the north of Iraq.
The convoy was mistakenly targeted by an American warplane. The subsequent missile strike killed 17 people, including a Kurdish translator working for the BBC and injured 45 others.
In a two-part Panorama, showing on BBC World on 27 and 28 December, Simpson relives the so-called ‘friendly fire’ tragedy, the events preceding it and the consequences of the attack. The veteran war correspondent suffered injuries to his ear and leg, and later discovered a piece of shrapnel embedded in his flak jacket that would almost certainly have killed him if it had not been for his layer of protection.
The documentary includes footage of the moments immediately before and after the missile strike, filmed by the cameraman Fred Scott. Last month, Scott received the prestigious Rory Peck Award for Hard News for what the judges described as ‘an exquisite example of professionalism’ in covering the story.
Reporting from the frontline Simpson says, “This is just a scene from hell here. All the vehicles on fire. There are bodies burning around me; there are bodies lying around; there are bits of bodies on the ground. This is a really bad own goal by the Americans. I saw this American convoy, and they bombed it. They hit their own people. They have killed a lot of ordinary characters, and I am looking at the bodies now and it is not a very pretty sight.”
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.
