News Broadcasting
Sanju Saha quits Star News, to join Pepsi India
NEW DELHI: Sanju Saha, executive vice president, human resources at Star News, has put in his papers and is slated to join Pepsi in a much higher capacity.
Industry sources said that Saha, just 37, is joining as executive vice president, human resources of the Rs 70 billion Pepsi India group, a high profile job that functionally is director, HR.
Reluctant to comment on the development, Saha did tell indiantelevision.com: “I can say that I am as of date EVP HR, Star News, but I am leaving the group, that is confirmed.”
Sources who know him say that Saha was looking for a higher profile, which Pepsi has now offered him. And though no one is putting a date to either his finally leaving Star or joining the F&B global major, sources said he is joining Pepsi in the first week of February.
Saha had been working with Star News for the past two years and was responsible for streamlining the HR department and making it market oriented, getting the right people and generally “ruddering the ship in an industry that has seen so much turmoil”, a Star insider says.
Saha has previously worked with Aaj Tak, thus having worked in senior capacities in both the top Hindi news channels of the country.
“I come from a banking background, having worked with American Express before joining the media, Aaj Tak,” Saha said.
Before AmEx, he had worked with Britannia and Vazir Sultan, the Hyderabad based tobacco manufacturer.
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.
