iWorld
Budget buzz goes viral as Network18 dominates Union Budget Day streams
MUMBAI: When the Budget dropped, so did the competition. As India tuned in for Union Budget Day 2026, Network18’s digital newsrooms turned into the country’s busiest viewing hubs, clocking some of the highest live-stream audiences across business and general news.
Across its platforms CNBC-Awaaz, CNBC-TV18, News18 India and CNN-News18 Network18 featured among the most-watched news streams during the Union Budget presentation, reinforcing its dominance during high-stakes national moments.
The real action unfolded during the peak live window between 11.00 am and 12.40 pm. CNBC-Awaaz surged ahead with a peak digital concurrency of 765.1K viewers, emerging as the clear market leader. News18 India followed with 667.1K, while CNBC-TV18 recorded a strong 581.3K. CNN-News18 added further heft with 362.0K concurrent viewers.
The gap widened sharply when compared with rival broadcasters. Zee Business peaked at 211.5K, Aaj Tak at 153.1K, and NDTV Profit at 137.3K, according to Databeings.
In relative terms, the lead was even more striking. News18 India delivered 4.3 times higher concurrency than Aaj Tak. CNBC-AWAAZ clocked 3.5 times the viewership of Zee Business, while CNBC-TV18 posted 4.24 times the concurrency of NDTV Profit. CNN-News18, meanwhile, drew nearly five times the audience of India Today, underlining its pull during major news events.
The performance reflects Network18’s strength in combining sharp real-time reporting with expert-led analysis and audience-friendly explainers, a formula that continues to resonate when news matters most.
With seamless integration across television, digital and social platforms, Network18 once again proved that on Budget Day, it doesn’t just follow the numbers, it leads them.
iWorld
Why Peaky Blinders is one of television’s biggest hits that still deserves more attention
Six seasons, multiple awards and the release of Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man bring the Shelby saga back into the spotlight
In the crowded universe of streaming content, only a handful of shows manage to leave a lasting cultural footprint. Peaky Blinders is overwhelmingly considered one of the biggest global hits of the past decade. Yet many viewers still haven’t fully explored the dark, gripping world of the Shelby family.
Originally produced for the UK’s BBC and later finding a massive global audience through Netflix, the series quietly grew from a British period drama into a worldwide streaming phenomenon.
Created by Steven Knight, the show follows the rise of the Shelby crime family in post-First World War Birmingham. What begins as a gritty street-gang story gradually expands into a sweeping narrative about ambition, politics, power and survival.
At the centre of the saga is Thomas Shelby, portrayed with extraordinary depth by Cillian Murphy. The casting of Murphy is widely regarded as perfect for the role. With piercing eyes, restrained dialogue and an almost hypnotic screen presence, he transforms Shelby into one of the most unforgettable characters in modern screen storytelling.
Murphy’s brilliance lies in his restraint. He rarely shouts or performs theatrically. Instead, a quiet stare, a calculated pause or a subtle shift in expression conveys the emotional storms within the character. Beneath the ruthless gang leader is a war veteran carrying trauma, guilt and loneliness. Murphy captures this complexity with remarkable precision, making Thomas Shelby both terrifying and deeply human.
Beyond its central performance, Peaky Blinders stands out for its unfiltered portrayal of reality. The show does not romanticise crime. Instead, it exposes the harsh social conditions of early 20th-century Britain, from poverty and class struggle to political extremism and the psychological scars left by war.
The series also presents powerful female characters who hold their own within the Shelby empire. Polly Gray, played by Helen McCrory, is the strategic backbone of the family and one of the most formidable figures in the story. Women in the series shape decisions, influence power structures and challenge the rigid social norms of the time.
Across six seasons, the narrative grows dramatically in scale. What begins in the smoky streets of Birmingham evolves into a story involving political conspiracies, fascism and international criminal networks.
The series has also earned significant critical acclaim. It won the BAFTA Television Award for Best Drama Series in 2018 and multiple National Television Awards for Best Drama, cementing its reputation as one of Britain’s most celebrated modern shows.
Another defining feature of the series is its iconic music. The show’s opening theme, Red Right Hand by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, became instantly recognisable and widely associated with the Shelby universe. Combined with a powerful soundtrack featuring artists such as Arctic Monkeys and Radiohead, the music helped shape the show’s dark, stylish identity and became hugely popular among fans.
And the Shelby story is not over yet.
In fact, its legacy is unfolding right now. The long-awaited feature-length continuation, Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man, was released on March 6, 2026, bringing the Shelby universe from streaming screens to cinemas and giving fans a new chapter in the saga.
For viewers who have not yet stepped into this world, the timing could not be better.
Six gripping seasons are ready to binge on Netflix. A new film has just arrived in theatres. And at the heart of it all stands one of the most magnetic performances in modern drama by Cillian Murphy.
So if Peaky Blinders has been sitting on your watchlist for years, this weekend is your moment.
So, by order of the Peaky fookin’ Blinders, consider this your cue to finally step into the ruthless world of Thomas Shelby. Pour yourself a drink, clear your schedule and press the play button. Because when the Peaky Blinders give an order, you listen.
