News Broadcasting
ET NOW and ET NOW Swadesh announce Union Budget programming under budget 2024
Mumbai: As India gears up for Union Budget 2024, ET NOW, an English business news channel, and ET NOW SWADESH, a Hindi business news channel, have announced Budget special programming under the themes ‘Leap to Lead’ and ‘Flight of Growth’ respectively. As the world’s fifth-largest economy with a GDP set to reach $4 trillion, India is poised for a transformative leap towards becoming a global economic leader. Reflecting the nation’s ambitions, both channels present a comprehensive 360-degree perspective of Union Budget 2024 to help viewers understand and navigate the financial landscape of India.
Leveraging advanced technology and cutting-edge AR graphics, ET NOW and ET NOW SWADESH offer an engaging line-up of shows that help simplify the Union Budget providing expert advice on stocks, markets, wealth creation strategies, investment insights, and more. The channels have also partnered with Deloitte India as a Knowledge Partner and will feature industry experts discussing the social, political, and economic impacts of the Union Budget.
Budget programming on ET NOW includes:
1. The Best-in-Class Think Tank Panel: Airing at 10 am, this special show will kick off with an in-depth pre-budget analysis and extend through the budget announcement, featuring India’s top economists and industry leaders sharing their expectations for the budget, providing valuable insights and strategic advice for the nation’s economic planning. The panel will include Hemal Zobalia, partner, Deloitte India; Shashank Srivastava, executive director, Maruti Suzuki India; Ashok Tyagi, Whole Time director, DLF; D P Singh, Deputy MD, SBI MF; and Sumant Sinha, Founder, Chairman, & CEO ReNew.
2. Top Market Veterans Decode Budget: Watch the exclusive analysis of the Union Budget with the industry’s top market veterans. This must-watch show has an esteemed team of guests, including Prashant Jain, CIO & Find Manager, 3P Investment Managers; Raamdeo Agrawal, Chairman, Motilal Oswal; Ravi Dharamshi, Founder, MD & CIO, ValueQuest Investment; Nilesh Shah, Envision Capital; Nilesh Shah, MD, Kotak AMC; Navneet Munot, MD & CEO, HDFC AMC; Sunil Singhania, Founder, Abakkus Asset Manager LLP; and Porinju Veliyath, MD, Equity Intelligence India Ltd who will decode the implications of the budget.
3. The India Inc Verdict on Budget 2024: Industry giants will share their expert analyses and reactions to the budget’s provisions in this show. Don’t miss this crucial analysis by Dr Anish Shah, President, FICCI, MD & CEO of Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd; Sanjiv Puri, Chairman and Managing Director, ITC Limited; Baba Kalyani, managing director, Bharat Forge; and Anant Goenka, vice president, FICCI, vice chairman, RPG group will help you navigate the economic landscape post-budget.
4. Top Policy Makers Decode the Fineprint: In this insightful show on ET NOW, viewers will gain exclusive access to the analysis of top policymakers, T.V. Somanathan, finance secretary, and V. Anantha Nageswaran, chief economic advisor on the latest economic policies. The guests will dissect the budget and explore their broader implications for the economy.
Budget programming on ET NOW SWADESH includes:
1. Market + Trading Akhada: Dive into ET NOW SWADESH’s budget analysis from 7 am to 4 pm, with industry leaders and economic experts sharing their perspectives on the economic implications. The panel will feature market veterans including Dr Vijay Kedia, founder, Kedia securities Pvt Ltd; Porinju Veliyath, MD, Equity Intelligence India Ltd; Trideep Bhattacharya, president & CIO, Edelweiss AMC; Punita Sinha, Pacific Paradigm Advisors; Manish Sonthalia, CIO, Emkay Investment managers; Maneesh Dangi, founder, Macro Mosaic Investing; Shailesh Haribhakti, Tax Expert; Radhika Gupta, MD & CEO, Edelweiss AMC; Saurabh Mukherjea, founder & CIO, Marcellus Investment Managers; Ajay Kanwal, MD & CEO, Jana Small Finance Bank; Nilesh Shah, MD, Kotak AMC; Niranjan Hiranandani, founder & chairman, Hiranandani group; and Anand Rathi, founder, Anand Rathi group.
2. Budget Darbar: Gain a deeper understanding of the fine print of the budget with top economy experts. In this special show, airing at 4 pm, callers’ queries on the budget will also be addressed. Hear the opinions and insights of DP Singh, Deputy MD of SBI MF; Swarup Mohanty, Vice Chairman & CEO of Mirae Asset Mutual Fund; Anthony Heredia, MD & CEO of Mahindra Manulife; and Mihir Vora, CIO of TRUST Mutual Fund with budget-related questions answered live.
3. Kisan Mahapanchayat: The budget’s implications for farmers are monumental and this show airing at 5 pm will help farmers with better market access and profitability. Experts Vijay Sardana, Techno, Legal and Agri Expert; Siraj Hussain, Ex Agri Secy; G Chandra Shekhar, Commodity Expert; Gunvant Patil, Member, MSP Committee; BV Mehta, ED, SEA; Atul Chaturvedi, Executive Chairman, Shree Renuka Sugars; and Pankaj Arora, President, AIJGF will point out the budget’s emphasis on financial support and credit facilities for farmers, paving the way to transform the agricultural landscape of India.
4. Corporate Mahapanchayat: Airing at 6 pm, this show heralds a transformative era for the corporate sector. Top industry leaders Kishor Lodha, Ugro; Amit Mahajan, Director, Paras Defence & Space Technologies, and Amit Jaiswal, CFO, Royal Orchid will dissect the budget’s impact on the corporate sector and what lies ahead.
5. Market Mahapanchayat: The upcoming budget is set to significantly influence the financial markets, driving investor confidence and market stability. Industry experts Gurmit Chaddha, Complete Circle Capital Private Ltd; Harsha Upadhyaya, CIO, Kotak MF; Amit Jeswani, Founder & CIO, Stallion Asset Management; and Mahesh Patil, Aditya Birla Sun Life MF will highlight investments in infrastructure and technology. Join us at 7 pm to gain crucial insights on how the budget will shape market dynamics and uncover new investment opportunities.
6. Bulandh Bharat Ka Budget: This show airing at 8 pm will delve into the budget’s far-reaching impact on India’s robust market and its path to becoming a global powerhouse. Political analysts and economists Vivek Singh, Mayur Parekh, Rakesh Shetty, Congress; Garima Kapoor, Analyst; and Vijay Sardana, Agri Economist will offer insights into the budget’s strategic vision and its implications for national growth. Viewers can expect a comprehensive, engaging discussion that unpacks how the budget is set to drive India’s market forward and shape its future.
Promising viewers an engaging television viewing experience, ET NOW and ET NOW SWADESH ramp up the excitement for the Union Budget with an on-air contest, Budget Master on 23 July 2024. Participants can enter the contest by watching the channels and answering simple questions asked between 8 am to 4 pm to win exciting prizes.
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.
