News Broadcasting
Bye Bye, Girish
It is with deep sorrow I announce that our esteemed colleague Girish Nikam is no more with us. Today evening, after recording his show ‘Big Picture’, he suffered a cardiac attack. He was immediately rushed to a hospital from the studio but he decided to say the final bye to all of us.
Girish was an integral part of RSTV, a voice of sobriety, rationale and compassion in the debates that he conducted, which became the hallmark of the channel.
He was one of the first one to join RSTV. He had never anchored before. He didn’t fit the caricature of TV anchors that Indian television has created and promoted. But, he was requested to anchor because we wanted to establish that television debates can also be about content and not just style.
Girish’s long experience in journalism qualified him for the experiment. And, how he proved it! Redefining not just the content and conduct of TV debates, but also developing a flair and style that has a huge fan following today.
Girish is gone, but he decided to go in style, right from the studio to an eternal journey. He always wanted to live actively till his last breath and, like everything else in his life, achieved this too as per his wish and on his terms!
Rajya Sabha Television will miss him. It will be difficult for anyone to emulate him in his show ‘The Big Picture’. But, he has left behind a template for serious television debates, which would certainly guide future anchors of RSTV.
I express my grief and sense of loss, which everyone in my channel shares with me. Because, besides everything else, Girish was a great human being, full of compassion, camaraderie and warmth.
Bye bye to a colleague, who was a ‘non-hypocrite’ to the extent of perfection.
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.
