News Broadcasting
Pakistan, Bangladesh seek more time on b’cast guidelines
NEW DELHI: Amid clouds of not-so-cordial relationship between India and Pakistan overshadowing crucial matters – like formulating model guidelines for transnational satellite broadcasting – prime minister A B Vajpayee today invited the SAARC countries to participate in India’s economy rather than be apprehensive about it.
Pakistan and Bangladesh, however, have sought 45 days time to respond to the draft of a model code for transnational guidelines that has been circulated by India amongst SAARC countries.
Vajpayee was speaking at the inauguration of the third conference of SAARC information ministers here. Vital issues relating to media are slated to be discussed amongst the representatives of the SAARC countries, in the conference.
Pointing out that regional cooperation is a trend in the world which is fast becoming a global village, Vajpayee said, ”It is time we recognise what regional cooperation means for all of us in South Asia. Other alignments will develop to seize the economic opportunities offered by closer integration. We cannot forever be challenging logic and mocking economics.”
Islamabad’s refusal to give its nod to the draft circulated by India on model guidelines on transnational satellite broadcasting in the region, which includes free transmission of television broadcasts among member countries, may force the SAARC information ministers conference to put the issue on the backburner, Economic Times reported today.
Reaffirming India’s commitment to the effort to build on the commonalities of SAARC nations and their shared aspirations for equitable development, Vajpayee ridiculed the argument that the unequal physical sizes and economic strengths of the countries in the region inhibited equal cooperation.
Briefing newspersons on the day’s developments at the SAARC info ministers’ meet, information and broadcasting minister Ravi Shankar Prasad in the evening said that many issues are likely to be resolved.
According to Prasad, it has been urged upon Pakistan and other SAARC countries to have a more relaxed visa regime that would promote freer movements of artistes.
He also said that a proposal to hold SAARC film festival should be taken up by the respective countries’ culture ministry. At present, in many SAARC nations film did not fall under the information and broadcasting ministry’s jurisdiction.
India has been trying to impress upon Pakistan to lift the ban on Indian TV channels and artistes from performing there, though Pakistani artistes are allowed to come to India and not only perform, but also earn a livelihood in our burgeoning entertainment sector. People like Adnan Sami and Zeba Bakhtiar have become an integral part of Bollywood.
However, the Pakistani approach has also caused much heart-burns in the Indian entertainment sector. Some Indian artistes like Abhijeet and Jagjit Singh and filmmakers like Mahesh Bhatt had recently urged the government to ban Pakistani artistes too. The aforementioned trio had also come down some months back to Delhi’s Press Club of India to garner support from the media on the issue.
Meanwhile, Pakistan’s information minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed today formally invited Vajpayee for the next SAARC Summit to be held at Islamabad in January even as he called for the resolution of ”basic issues” between
the two countries.
He extended the verbal invitation to Vajpayee soon after the PM inaugurated the SAARC info ministers meet here today.
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.
