News Broadcasting
Ten Sports, SET beaming into Europe on Pehla DTH platform
MUMBAI: The Dubai-based Arab Digital Distribution (ADD) DTH platform’s Pehla bouquet has started beaming into mainland Europe.
Pehla, which targets South Asian audiences, launched on 1 November as “Pehla – Premium Asian Entertainment Television in Europe”. Speaking about the launch, Vinod DMello executive vice-president, network development & marketing of ADD told indiantelevision.com, “We are building our platform on Hotbird with Irdeto conditional access system. At present during the introductory phase we are offering five channels (Sony Entertainment Television, Geo TV, Ten Sports, EuroSports and Eurosports News) and we will shortly be enhancing the bouquet with additional channels in the basic tier and increased subscription options (Pehla Basic, Pehla Silver, Pehla Gold). The recommended retail price (Introductory offer) is Euro 19.90 per month.”
For Ten Sports, the Europe beam gives the Abdurrahman Bukhatir-promoted channel its first expansion outside South Asia and the Middle East. This is the fourth dedicated feed that Ten Sports will be offering, after the feeds that are currently in operation for India, Pakistan and the Middle East.
D’Mello said Pehla Europe was targeting the south Asian audience of approximately 1.7 million living in mainland Europe with a competitive pricing strategy, flexible subscription and payment options.
In the Middle East the ADD platform is on Nilesat. ADD operates three DTH bouquet offerings – Pehla, First Net (targeted at Westerners) and Al-Awael (aimed at Arabs).
As far as coverage is concerned, the Europe beam is one area where Ten has an advantage over ESPN Star Sports because ESS cannot broadcast outside the Asian region.
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.
