News Broadcasting
Distribution hitches delay Sahara’s NCR news channel launch
MUMBAI: This time round Sahara is not taking any chances with a new product. In a bid to have its distribution strategy in place before launch, Sahara India Media & Entertainment’s (SIME) proposed NCR channel has been delayed till next month.
The National Capital Region (NCR) channel, which was conceived under the project name D1, has been given a formal name Sahara Samay NCR.
Confirming the development, a company source said, “The launch has been delayed as we are making sure that the channel would be available on tunable, if not prime, band in the NCR.”
With increasing number of channels being introduced via cable compounding the problem of low availability of bandwidth, service providers are finding it difficult to have all the channels on the tunable band. In India, prime
band is considered that bandwidth where approximately 12-15 channels could be accessed by a black & white TV set, while those channels that can be accessed by an average TV set, are said to be tunable. At present, over 400 pay and free to air channels could be accessed in India.
Sahara sources also added that distribution head Tapas Roy, an import from Siti Cable, was concentrating on Sahara Rashtriya and Sahara Mumbai as the respective channels had got shifted out of the tunable band and,
hence, was unable to devote full time on the proposed channel.
However, the NCR channel is being test beamed and is available on 28-odd headends in Delhi and the neighbouring areas, even as programming details are being a final shape along with additional broadcast equipment that would be necessary to make the channel really live, interactive and lively.
Explaining that Sahara does not want to take chances with a new channel, unlike the existing ones from the stable that had faced distribution problems resulting in low visibility, the sources added that the company’s distribution team too is being beefed up country-wide in the wake of a few exits.
In recent times, there have been several departures from Sahara’s distribution team, including Raj Mohan, who used to look after the distribution activities for south and western India region. Mohan has joined as head of distribution for TV Today Network after Amitabh Srivastava upped and shook hands with the little Big Mouse.
SIME is also not averse to follow “certain market norms” relating to placement of channels on cable networks and, company sources admitted, package deals were being worked out with cable operators.
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.
