News Broadcasting
ESS moves SC challenging HC order to share feed with DD
NEW DELHI: ESPN Star Sports, exclusive telecast rights holder for the ongoing Bangladesh-India series, this morning filed a special leave petition in the Supreme Court challenging a directive issued yesterday by the Kerala High Court that it share its feed with national broadcaster Doordarshan.
The case will be heard by a vacation bench of the apex court. No time has been assigned yet for arguments and late evening ESS executives expressed hopes that the court would take up the case tomorrow or at the earliest.
In deference to a high court order passed yesterday, ESPN allowed DD to carry its feed of the first one-dayer between Bangladesh and India today in toto. The next match is scheduled for Saturday.
A two-judge division bench of the Kerala High Court of Chief Justice B Subhashan Reddy and Justice Kurian Joseph, in an interim order, had directed ESS to share revenues at the ratio of 80:20, subject to such terms and conditions as may be prescribed by the Supreme Court in pending cases.
However, when contacted by indiantelevision.com this evening, an official of DD pointed out that it is likely to reiterate its demands in the Supreme Court too after joining issues. DD had submitted in the high court earlier that revenue share of 80:20 is not acceptable to it and that such deals should be signed as per precedence and past agreements that had been agreed upon between the two parties.
The DD official pointed out that it had submitted in the high court that a fair deal would comprise Rs 10 million in minimum guarantee per one-dayer (to be paid by ESS to DD) after which a 80:20 advertising revenue share, in
favour of ESS, looked okay.
The high court Bench yesterday had made it clear that Doordarshan should exhibit the logo of ESPN and advertisements, which ESPN has committed for the one-day series.
On Monday, ESS had submitted before the Bench that it holds exclusive right to telecast the India-Bangladesh cricket series and was not willing to share its revenue with Doordarshan for telecasting the three one-dayers.
Senior advocate Rakesh Munchal, representing ESPN, had submitted before the Kerala High Court, that ESS was “not agreeable to revenue sharing.”
ESPN would suffer a “huge financial loss” if asked to share its revenue with Doordarshan in the ratio of 80:20, Munchal had argued. In his submission Munchal had contended that the daily loss to the sports broadcaster would be Rs 100 million if it was forced to share the feed with DD. Therefore the total loss as per ESS’ claims is Rs 300 million for the three ODIs.
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.
