News Broadcasting
Network18 hires Mukul Gupta & Tauquir Zaidi, strengthens ETV’s revenue team
MUMBAI: Network18, one of India’s most diversified media conglomerates has been strengthening and re-organizing its revenue function to create a robust team with deserving talent base. Recently the company announced elevation of key sales personnel. Moving in the same direction, the Network has now announced the appointment of Mukul Gupta & Tauquir Zaidi as National Sales Heads for ETV News HSM (Hindi Speaking Markets) channels and ETV News Language channels, respectively.
Commenting on these appointments, Joy Chakraborthy, President – Revenue, TV18 & CEO Forbes India said, ‘We are very happy that Tauquir and Mukul have joined our ETV News Network, I welcome them. They bring vast and varied experience of media sales, which will strengthen an already good team.’
Prior to joining Network18, Mukul was Head Sales – Special Initiatives at Zee News’s regional bouquet of channels. Before that he was head of corporate sales with ETV News. He has considerable experience of work with other brands such as MAA TV, Sahara Samay, Dainik Bhaskar, Rajasthan Patrika, Hindustan Times to name a few.
Tauquir was the National Sales Head with Prasar Bharati – Doordarshan channels, Region Head with Times Now, NDTV Media and has spent more than six yrs in STAR India.
Both Mukul and Tauquir will be reporting to Sudip Roy, EVP and National Revenue Head, ETV News Network, Network18, who in turn reports to Joy.
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.
