News Broadcasting
DSNG gaining popularity for Indian news channels
MUMBAI: Digital Satellite News Gathering (DSNG) is becoming popular for all the news channels in India as the competition is on to be the first to broadcast live.
“Though it is an expensive solution, DSNG is catching on, even in India. The September 11 incident has particularly put news channels on the fast track,” said Digital Broadcast India director (technical) B Sitaram, while speaking at the Broadcast India 2004 Technical Symposium on Tuesday.
There are other options like optical fibre and VSATs which are also being used. “Reliance Infocomm, Tata Indicom and BSNL have laid optic fibre which can be used as news gathering systems. But satellite news gathering is gaining popularity,” said Sitaram.
The advent of efficient digital compression techniques makes it possible to reduce video data to a low volume (from 270 mbps to 1.5-50 mbps). Bandwidth requirement reduces, making it less expensive to gather news through satellite links. “This is the starting point for the popularity of DSNG,” said Sitaram.
“Till a few years back, the transmission of TV signals through satellite was completely in analogue domain. Hence, bandwidth was an issue. Now we have efficient digital compression techniques,” said Sitaram.
There are two frequency of operations in digital satellite news gathering – C-band and Ku-band. In India, the government permitted the use of Ku-band of frequencies for DSNG operations.
“New technologies are evolving, providing cost-effective alternatives. The demand from news channels is also driving down costs,” said Sitaram.
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.
