News Broadcasting
ESS bags rights for Uefa ‘Euro 2004’ for the Indian Sub-continent
MUMBAI: ESPN Star Sports (ESS) is going to play football in a major way this year. The broadcaster has announced that it has acquired the Uefa Euro 2004 broadcasting rights for the Indian Sub-continent. This is considered to be the second most important soccer property after the Fifa World Cup.
The event which takes place from 12 June to 4 July will see 16 European teams competing including France, England, Germany and Italy. 50 of Uefa’s 51 participating teams were included in the draw to qualify for the first 15 spots. The host country Portugal qualified automatically.
ESPN Software India MD RC Venkateish was quoted in an official release saying, ” Considered one of the biggest competitions on the sporting calendar, Euro has a strong fan following in India. As the telecast times on our chanel are at around 9:30 pm in India, we expect the tournament to attract a lot of viewers nationally. The event provides an exciting and clutter-free environment to our advertisers to reach its target audiences. It is also happening at a time when there is no other global sporting event.”
The event will have 31 matches including 24 first round matches. In addition to the live telecasts ESS will also produce daily half hour pre-match highlights complemented with four weekly one-hour highlights. The football package will include specials such as The Story of the Uefa European Football Championships, The Road to Uefa Euro 2004, The Golden Moments, The Stars of the Uefa European Football Championships and The Stars of Uefa Euro 2004.
The latest acquisition complements the broadcaster’s coverage of the English Premier League (EPL), Uefa Champions League, Uefa Cup and Spanish Primera Liga. Recently the network concluded an exclusive four-year agreement with Englands governing body of football, The Football Association (The FA).
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.
