News Broadcasting
Casbaa takes on media & research director
As part of on-going initiatives to enhance the value of Asian pay television as an advertising vehicle, the Cable & Satellite Broadcasting Association of Asia (Casbaa) has hired a highly experienced executive to make arguments in its favour to the regional advertising industry.
The new Casbaa director, Robert Wilson, whose appointment is immediate, has worked in the Asia Pacific for more than 20 years. His background includes almost a decade of pioneering work in cable and satellite television research and marketing at STAR TV and NBC Asia as well as a recent post at ACNielsen in media research sales and development. Before joining Star TV, Wilson worked for more than a decade with advertising agency Lintas: Worldwide, (now Lowe & Partners) in Australia, the United States, Malaysia and Hong Kong.
“We believe the appointment of Robert will give Casbaa and its member companies a new edge in building a competitive argument for the use of cable and satellite television as an advertising medium,” said Simon Twiston Davies, CEO Casbaa.
A key objective will be to address and evaluate competing local and regional syndicated research services, and, where appropriate, recommend the services Casbaa members should adopt that would further the cause of maximizing advertising revenue for members. “With the help of this initiative we want to see our members improving their return on their considerable media research investments,” said Twiston Davies.
Another objective is to foster the establishment of comprehensive and effective advertising expenditure measurement for cable and satellite channels and, where appropriate, to represent Casbaa member companies on television joint industry research committees.
Robert Wilson will be located in Singapore, reporting to CEO Simon Twiston Davies, adding valuable strength to Casbaa’s presence in Southeast Asia .
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.
