News Broadcasting
News presenter Shireen looks to offer consultancy services
MUMBAI: Realising that the mushrooming of television news channels also means an opportunity to offer consultancy services, former Sahara and NDTV news presenter Shireen has decided to go full-time into business through her company Network 1.
A bi-lingual anchor, Shireen was tipped to join Television Eighteen for its Hindi channel, CNBC Awaaz, but decided against it in favour freelance work. Presently, she is busy doing some projects for Zee Business, including anchoring a show called Share Bazaar Live.
Set up a few years ago, Network 1 is designed to service the demands of TV networks that range from training personnel to presenting an analytical viewpoint to a channel’s performance. The company is also in talks with
media clients in South East Asia and the Middle East for TV-related projects, though Shireen refuses to divulge any details.
Pointing out that at Sahara too her association was to manage a project after having built it from scratch, along with others like Arup Ghosh (now with Jagran TV), Shireen said that her three years there had been
a “great learning experience”, but she needed a break from the monotony too.
Shireen, along with Ghosh and few people from the technical team, quit the Sahara Samay family last year. She was also designated to head a channel from the sahara stable for the Sahara Samay NCR , which is still in the making.
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.
