News Broadcasting
News18 Network captures highest YouTube views in second phase of elections
Mumbai: On the polling day (26 April) of the second phase of the Lok Sabha elections, News18 Network emerged as the most preferred choice of viewers with the highest viewership on YouTube.
According to the viewership data from Playboard, News18 India’s YouTube views reached 31.6 million on the polling day, surpassing key competitors.
With 14.2 million views, News18 Bangla was the most-watched Bengali news channel on YouTube.
News18 Punjab/Haryana/Himachal also amassed the highest viewership with 8.08 million video views on YouTube.
News18 Rajasthan captured 3 million views on YouTube, making it the most viewed news channel from the state on YouTube.
With over 2.6 million views on YouTube on the polling day, News18 Assam/NE surpassed all its competitors.
Talking about News18 Network’s exemplary performance on YouTube, Pranav Bakshi, Head of partnerships & Video strategy, Network 18 said, “Our exceptional viewership in key markets & languages during the polls is a reflection of our commitment to delivering high-quality programming and comprehensive election coverage from the ground zero. Our emphasis on localized content connects with viewers. The increased viewership has encouraged advertiser interest, as more brands recognize the power of reaching audiences across regions and languages, as we cover the elections in maximum languages & across India. Election= News18.”
News Broadcasting
News TV viewership jumps 33 per cent as West Asia war draws audiences
BARC Week 8 data shows news share rising to 8 per cent despite T20 World Cup
NEW DELHI: Even as individual television news channel ratings remain under a temporary pause, the genre itself is seeing a clear surge in audience attention.
According to the latest data from Broadcast Audience Research Council India, television news recorded a 33 per cent jump in genre share in Week 8 of 2026, covering February 28 to March 6.
The news genre accounted for 8 per cent of total television viewership during the week, up from 6 per cent the previous week. The spike in attention coincided with escalating geopolitical tensions involving the United States, Israel and Iran, which have kept global headlines firmly fixed on West Asia.
The rise is notable because it came at a time when cricket was dominating television screens. The high-stakes stages of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, including the Super 8 fixtures and semi-finals, were being broadcast during the same period.
Despite the cricket frenzy, viewers appeared to be toggling between sport and global affairs, boosting the overall share of news programming.
The surge in genre share comes even as the government has enforced a one-month pause on publishing ratings for individual news channels. The move followed regulatory scrutiny of the television ratings ecosystem.
While channel-level rankings remain temporarily out of sight, the genre-level data suggests that when global tensions escalate, audiences continue to turn to television news for real-time updates.
