News Broadcasting
Jiaxing SARFT selects Irdeto PIsys for its digital TV operation
MUMBAI: Irdeto Access, a world leader in content security, today announced that Jiaxing Broadcasting and TV Network (Jiaxing SARFT) have selected Irdeto Access’ Conditional Access (CA) solution – Irdeto PIsys – for its digital TV operation.
The license agreement reaffirms the leadership of Irdeto Access in supporting the Chinese government’s ambitious initiative to digitalise television in the world’s most populous nation.
Jiaxing is a city in the province of Zhejiang with over three million inhabitants, of which 600,000 are cable television (CATV) subscribers. Jiaxing SARFT, the local administrative authority of TV operations, manages the CATV transmission network that covers the city and all 97 counties in the surrounding suburban areas. As one of the 41 cities appointed for digital TV trials, Jiaxing SARFT plans to complete its digitalisation before 2008.
Once the project is completed, Jiaxing SARFT will be able to add over 50 new CATV channels, including about 30 channels from other provinces, approximately 20 pay-TV channels and a number of interactive TV programs.
Irdeto PIsys for Digital TV, developed for large-scale operations, will serve as a reliable platform to protect the valuable new pay-TV content and the revenues it will generate. Irdeto PIsys for Digital TV will also offer Jiaxing SARFT a wide variety of customer revenue models, from traditional subscriptions to Impulse Pay Per View, Pay Per Time, and new pre-paid scratch card-based services.
“Irdeto Access was selected for its technological excellence, its strong capability in local support and track record in delivering solutions that best meet the customers’ needs. Working with Irdeto Access enabled us to leverage their extensive experience in the pay-media industry gained over nearly four decades, to achieve our own business goals,” said Jiaxing Broadcasting and TV Network general manager Xu Guang Fu.
“Irdeto Access is a leading provider of content protection solutions for broadcast, broadband and mobile environments that offer operators the highest level of security and scalability. Part of our customer service strategy is to provide local support and to speak the local language. We are pleased to see that our strengths have been widely recognised in China,” said Irdeto Access China CEO David Xiong.
Apart from the usual 24/7 technical support, Irdeto Access also offers the following services: on site customer training, support in set top box selection as well as a thorough testing of the CA functionality and overall quality of the set top boxes during our design verification testing. The company also provides consultancy to operators on how to set up a sound security management programme in cooperation with partners, and on how to create additional content revenue streams.
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.
