News Broadcasting
Debate on cable industry in New Delhi tomorrow
The Center for Advocacy and Research (CFAR) is organising a discussion on ‘The Cable Industry and the Viewers: Setting New Norms and Standards’ tomorrow, 30 April.
The two-hour debate to be held at the Indian Women Press Corps (IWPC) office in New Delhi, plans to be the beginning of a series of interventions the centre has planned around the issue. CFAR hopes to initiate a process through which various stakeholders in the television industry come together and share their experiences and vision for the future.
Television technology has become the main concern among all its stakeholders, says CFAR. While viewers have been expressing their concern on rising subscription charges, the indifferent attitude of cable operators towards quality of service, little or no impact of digitisation on quality of images, other stakeholders (broadcasters, MSOs, cable operators and policy makers) have their own share of concerns and grievances, it notes.
As the shift from the present system to the Conditional Access System is being planned, the centre plans to initiate a process through which the stakeholders come together to find some common solutions. CFAR regularly conducts public interest research with a focus on gender and development issues, and has over the last six years, built up a consumer response to media content in the form of an audience collective called the Viewers Forum. It operates out of Delhi, Ahmedabad and Lucknow and in Nadwasarai village at Mau District in Uttar Pradesh.
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.
