News Broadcasting
Nat Geo Intl commissions two hour global special on ‘Bin Laden’s Spy’
MUMBAI: Following the success of the documentary special Inside 9/11, National Geographic Channels International (NGCI) and National Geographic Channel have commissioned Towers Productions for a two-hour special Bin Laden’s Spy in America.
Bin Laden’s Spy in America, details the secret case of an Islamic fundamentalist who joins the US Army while playing a key role in terrorism plots on the road to 9/11. The two-hour documentary will premiere in the US on 28 August and internationally on 10 September 2006.
NGCI executive VP content Sydney Suissa says, “This is an unknown and astounding story of the deception that allowed 9/11 to happen. It’s far more riveting than any spy novel could ever be”.
The film tells the story of an ex-Egyptian Special Forces major who infiltrated the US intelligence community while working for terrorist organisations like Egyptian Islamic Jihad and al Qaeda. He successfully enlisted in the US Army despite having been listed as a suspected terrorist on a State Department’s watch list.
While serving in the US Army, he provided training to several of the terrorists who took part in the 1993 World Trade Center attack. He also compiled an al Qaeda terror manual using information from documents taken during his stay at Fort Bragg; and coordinated bin Laden’s relocation from Afghanistan to the Sudan. He later became an FBI informant at around the same time that he was training terrorists in al Qaeda camps in the Middle East.
The documentary is in part based on the upcoming investigative book Triple Cross by Peter Lance. Following its premiere, Bin Laden’s Spy in America will be available for international distribution at the television event Mipcom, which takes place in Cannes in October.
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.
