News Broadcasting
‘Dil Na Jaane Kyun’ high on Zee’s popular shows
MUMBAI: Dil Na Jaane Kyun, the first leaf out of Zee’s innovative Chausath Panne, which is poised to reach an unexpected climax in a couple of weeks, has climbed to number two in the channel’s top shows.
According to Zee officials and Dil Na.. production house FilmFarm, the show ranks a close second to Astitva – Ek Prem Kahani, the Niki Aneja- Varun Badola starrer. Both shows have consciously kept away from the typical saas-bahu oriented family drama and explore untouched themes. While Astitva probes the relationship between a doctor and a husband who is younger than her, Dil Na dwells on the touching relationship between mother -in-law and daughter-in-law after the son dies.
Sanjay Upadhyaya, who has earlier directed Saaya for Sony, will take over the next edition of Chausath Panne when Dil Na finishes its course. At a party to mark the success of Dil Na, producer Pintoo Guha, who had an eight year stint with UTV before branching out on his own, said the show was initially conceived as a weekly but later adapted to suit the Chausath Panne slot. Zee’s internal research had shown that viewers were now looking for serials with a finite number of episodes, he said.
Zee has now contracted Guha to do some more shows for the channel and Guha believes that although channels may be constrained to slash budgets after the implementation of conditional access, good content will rule programming in the coming months and consequently, channels would be loath to cutting costs at random.
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.
