News Broadcasting
Roopa Das heads new programing cell at Creative Eye
The Dheeraj Kumar-promoted production house Creative Eye has recently created a new programming cell headed by Roopa Das, former senior executive producer of Sony Entertainment Television.
Das was one of a large number of executives at different levels who quit Sony to join the Manoranjan Aur Kya (MAK) Network, which never got off the ground. She has been appointed as vice-president, programming at CEL. The company has announced that will be inducting more professionals shortly in the newly constituted programming cell. Among those who have already been inducted is Mahesh Badal, who has earlier worked with CMM and STV Enterprises.
The cell has already started working on various genres of programmes including social, suspense thriller, comedy sitcom, an official release states. CEL has commenced the shooting of three new programmes. CEL plans to produce at least six new programmes with the active association of its newly formed programming cell for Doordarshan and satellite channels during the third quarter of 2002-03.
The company, which was one of the major content providers to Doordarshan earlier, but had shifted its focus to satellite TV over the last year due to high telecast fees, has now decided to supply more content to DD again. Creative Eye also recently announced its intent to produce three Hindi feature films in the current fiscal. The company has so far produced more than 1,700 hours of programming that includes social, suspense thrillers, historical and mythological programmes. According to an official release, the current eight hours of programming per week on Doordarshan will be increased to 16 hours in 2002-03.
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.
