News Broadcasting
Prasar Bharati looking at relaunching DD News
Less than six months after Prasar Bharati shut down its Doordarshan News channel due to lack of viewership, the pubcaster is contemplating reviving it.
This was confirmed to indiantelevision.com by a senior Prasar Bharati official today. It needs noting that when DD News closed down on 26 January after 18 months on air, there were simply no takers for the channel despite the increased interest in news post-11 September. The idea then was to devote more time on DD1 to news and current affairs.
What seems to have brought around this turnaround in thinking seems to have been the communal strife that Gujarat state witnessed as well as the ongoing tensions with neighbouring Pakistan. The private news channels have gone from strength to strength following these events with blanket coverage of the events.
The government appears to have come round to the view that a dedicated news channel is an absolute must in these times of uncertainty to work as a vehicle to better represent the government’s side of the story.
Word of a rethink on DD News comes at a time when Doordarshan is working overtime to spruce up its new presentation team with the help of the BBC and there is a spurt of interest among private players to launch news channels.
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.
