News Broadcasting
Republic TV claims ‘stunning’ debut on Hotstar
MUMBAI: New kid on the news block Republic TV has claimed it made a “stunning debut on Hotstar” crossing “a million viewers” within a day of its launch.
In an official joint statement of Republic TV and Hotstar, the news channel announced it has “created leadership in the most coveted news audience in the country, the urban viewers”.
Republic’s reach on Hotstar’s OTT platform exceeded that of the top English news channels on television, including Times Now, India Today TV, CNN News18 and NDTV 24×7 amongst both the urban M15+ audience as well as viewers in the top 60 cities in India, according to the statement put out by Republic TV, helmed by Arnab Goswami and funded, amongst others, by entrepreneur-turned-politician Rajeev Chandrashekhar, a vice-chairman of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) that rules India.
Claiming that it is a “dramatic announcement given the viewership benchmarks are from a single digital platform”, the Republic TV-Hotstar statement said the new news channel’s viewership figures exceeded that of “traditional news channels significantly”.
According to the claims, Republic TV’s viewership percentage was 208 per cent of Times Now, 229 per cent of India Today, 311 per cent of CNN News18 and 254 per cent of NDTV 24X7. It further claimed that the comparisons are vis-a-vis TV figures that BARC India would collect within all-India 1mn+ towns, including mega-cities, for 22 April 2017.
Indiantelevision.com is not in a position to independently verify the viewership figures submitted by Republic TV and Hotstar. BARC India, the country’s present audience measurement currency, has not yet come out with data relating to Republic TV and other Indian news channels for the period under consideration till the time of writing this report.
Commenting on the matter, the official statement quoted Hotstar CEO Ajit Mohan as saying, “This is an exciting start and is a testimony to the impactful launch of Republic and the strength of the Hotstar platform, which has become the de facto destination for young, digital India.”
Republic TV CEO Vikas Khanchandani said in the statement, “Republic will be the largest and most impactful news platform. We are excited to partner with Hotstar and bring in an entirely new audience to the Republic community. We are also thrilled to have taken a leadership position on debut itself. ”
News Broadcasting
CNN-News18 to host Kolkata Town Hall on Hooghly River
‘Bhalobasa Bengal Inspiring Bharat’ event on April 20 brings cultural icons, trailblazing women and leaders aboard a cruise to celebrate Bengal’s enduring influence.
MUMBAI: Bengal is about to make fresh waves on the Hooghly and this time the current is pure conversation. CNN-News18 is taking its iconic Town Hall format to the waters of the iconic Hooghly River on 20 April 2026 with a special edition titled ‘Bhalobasa Bengal – Inspiring Bharat’. The floating event will celebrate the state’s rich cultural legacy and how its ideas, creativity and spirit continue to shape the rest of the country.
The unique riverside setting draws on Bengal’s history as a cradle of reform, art and intellectual thought. The speaker line-up mirrors that diversity: cultural heavyweights Mithun Chakraborty and Sreenanda Shankar will share the stage with trailblazing “Devis” such as Tanya Sanyal (India’s first woman firefighter in aviation), Ipsita Chakraborty (Kolkata’s first woman bartender) and Reshma Nilofer Visalakshi (Nari Shakti awardee and marine pilot). Music will flow through the celebrated pianist-vocalist duo Sourendro and Soumyojit, while public life and governance will be represented by Smriti Irani, Leander Paes, Saira Shah Halim, Keya Ghosh, Rekha Patra, Roopa Ganguly and Babul Supriyo.
CNN-News18, editorial affairs director, Rahul Shivshankar, said the event honours voices that carry Bengal’s legacy forward. Smriti Mehra, CEO – English & Business News, Network18, added that Bengal’s stories resonate far beyond its borders, especially as the state heads into polls.
From the first woman to battle flames in the skies to legendary actors who shaped Indian cinema, the gathering promises a rich mix of inspiration, courage and candid dialogue. In a city where culture has always flowed as freely as the river itself, CNN-News18 is turning the Hooghly into a floating forum for ideas that matter.
Tune in on 20 April on CNN-News18, CTV and YouTube to catch Bengal’s heartbeat in full flow.
