News Broadcasting
IL&FS fund invests Rs 400 million in TV18’s Global Broadcast News
MUMBAI: Global Broadcast News (GBN), a Television Eighteen Group company, has raised Rs 400 million from Leverage India Fund, a fund managed by IL&FS Investment Managers Ltd (IIML).
Indiantelevision.com learns that GBN has been valued at slightly over Rs 4 billion.
According to sources close to the deal, Leverage India Fund will hold a minority stake in GBN at a later stage. GBN owns and runs the newly launched English-language general news channel, CNN IBN.
“The support and funding that we have received from a strong investor like IIML puts GBN in a strong spot to build on its growing leadership position within the Indian broadcasting industry,” GBN director and TV18 Group managing director Raghav Bahl said in a communication to the Bombay Stock
Exchange today.
GBN, which has plans to run a slew of TV channels, had inked a co-branding deal in 2005 year with Turner International (a Time Warner company), owners of CNN.
Last year, the TV18 Group had announced a restructuring to comply with government norms related to news channels that mandates foreign investment in news channel uplinking from India cannot be over 26 per cent.
The business news operations (including Awaaz and CNBC TV18) is being consolidated in TV18, whereas Network 18 India Holdings Ltd will hold majority stakes in TV18 and GBN.
Television Eighteen stock today closed on the Bombay Stock Exchange at Rs 411.40, having opened the day at Rs 420.
(1 US$ = Rs 44)
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TV18 founder Raghav Bahl to relinquish 10 per cent stake
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.
