News Broadcasting
Hanuman, Chhota Birbal next on Cartoon Network
MUMBAI: Hanuman and Chhota Birbal will be the latest additions this year to the seven locally acquired animation series on Cartoon Network in the last two years.
A Pentamedia creation Alibaba will also go on air on the channel by 27 July, according to Turner Entertainment Network senior VP Ian Diamond. This follows the launch of Tenali Raman, the antics of the popular minister in the court of Krishnadevaraya, a 13 part series that kicked off on 14 June and will be aired weekends. Tenali Raman is produced by the Hyderabad based Toonz Animation for Cartoon Network.
Cartoon Network globally has in fact set aside an amount of $500 million over a period of five years for the creation of original animation, says Diamond. Locally produced animation with themes revolving around Indian mythical and historical characters has in fact been a hit with Indian audiences and viewership now touches 18 million households, as against 15 million last year, according to Diamond.
Chhota Birbal is the product of an agreement with Climb Media and is a fictional take on a time when Mughal Emperor Akbar and his minister, friend and wisest counsel, Birbal were kids. The series showcases their fictional baby-sized adventures. Alibaba on the other hand, comes from the Pentamedia stable, which earlier produced Pandavas and Sinbad series for Cartoon Network.
“We are very serious about cartoons,” says Diamond, maintaining that the channel is concentrating on a strong mix of Japanese, Indian and Chinese animation in addition to the eternal Western favourites that are run on the channel.
The rise of India as an ‘animation hub’ has helped the channel source more content from within the country, avers Diamond. The high cost per episode has however impeded the introduction of longer series thus far. All the series thus far have had runs of a maximum of 13 episodes.
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.
