News Broadcasting
CNN-News18 rules prime time with 72.5 per cent market share lead
MUMBAI: When the nation tunes in, it’s clear who’s holding the mic. CNN-News18 has tightened its grip on the English news throne, bagging a staggering 72.5 per cent market share during peak news hours, a figure bigger than all its competitors combined.
According to BARC data (Mkt: 10L+ | TG: 22–40 Male | Wk 27–30’25, 19:00–24:00 Hrs), Times Now managed 17.9 per cent, NDTV 24×7 clocked 7.4 per cent, Republic TV scraped 1.5 per cent, and India Today Television trailed with just 0.7 per cent. The result? A prime-time rout that leaves no doubt who’s setting the national news agenda.
The dominance isn’t just in the evening spotlight. CNN-News18’s overall share in the English news genre remains formidable 60 per cent ahead of Times Now and a jaw-dropping 102 per cent ahead of NDTV (Source: BARC India | All India (U+R) 15+ | AVG Week 30’25). The channel has held its No. 1 spot for over three years, a testament to its mix of accuracy, clarity, and a citizen-first approach.
Recent upgrades from a cleaner, more visual-heavy design to tighter storytelling have only sharpened its edge. With top anchors like Zakka Jacob, Anand Narasimhan, Rahul Shivshankar, and Shivani Gupta, plus a robust nationwide reporting network, CNN-News18 delivers not just breaking headlines but context-rich coverage with data-driven explainers.
By blending editorial heft with tech innovation, the channel is making sure that when the story matters, India knows exactly where to turn and in peak hours, it’s turning to CNN-News18 in overwhelming numbers.
News Broadcasting
Rajesh Sundaram joins NDTV Profit as senior editor, assignment
The 32-year newsroom veteran has launched channels on three continents and covered everything from 9/11 to South African television
MUMBAI: NDTV Profit has bolstered its newsroom with a hire who has done rather more than most. Rajesh Sundaram, a journalist with over three decades of editorial, managerial and consultative experience across India and international markets, joins as senior editor, assignment, tasked with sharpening the network’s newsgathering and real-time response.
Sundaram’s career reads like a tour of Indian media’s most formative moments. He began at Businessworld in 1994, moved to Zee News as bureau chief across Mumbai and Chennai, then joined NDTV in 2002 as part of its political bureau during a particularly febrile period in Indian politics. A stint as India correspondent for Al Jazeera International followed, where he covered key geopolitical developments and got his first serious taste of the global newsroom.
What sets Sundaram apart, however, is his serial channel-launching habit. At NewsX, he helped get the operation off the ground. At Headlines Today, part of the India Today Group, he served as editor. At News Nation, he helped launch the Hindi news channel and its digital ecosystem. He then crossed continents to lead the launch of ANN7 in South Africa as editor-in-chief, overseeing both television and digital. Back in India, he launched Tamil news channels News7 Tamil and Cauvery News, and later served as principal consultant for the launch of Marathi channel Lokshahi. Most recently, he helped build and lead the Press Trust of India’s video service and content studio, before stints consulting for Business Today and The Himalayan Times.
Rahul Kanwal, chief executive and editor-in-chief of NDTV, left little doubt about what Sundaram is expected to deliver. “The assignment desk is where a newsroom’s intent becomes action,” he said. “Rajesh brings a rare combination of field experience and leadership in building news operations at scale.”
Sundaram has reported from across India and the world, covering elections, civil conflicts, the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks and the 2008 US presidential election.
At NDTV Profit, he will lead the assignment desk, driving editorial coordination and real-time response across markets and breaking developments. For a business news network sharpening its focus on speed and multi-platform delivery, it has hired a man who has built newsrooms from scratch on three continents. The assignment desk is in good hands.
