News Broadcasting
Time Warner and EMI merger talks point to a deal
NEW YORK: Time Warner is going ahead with plans to merge its recorded music operations with EMI as the long-awaited consolidation of the global music business gathers speed.
Executives at Time Warner still favour a deal with EMI, The Financial Times quoted people familiar with the negotiations as saying over the weekend. This is even after Sony Music and BMG, the music division of Bertelsmann, last week signed a non-binding letter of intent to combine their recorded music operations in a 50-50 joint venture.
The Sony-BMG deal raises the prospect of the two mergers racing to win approval from competition authorities. Regulators, who in 2000 twice blocked a sale of EMI, are expected to look more favourably on a merger following the sharp decline in industry sales and the rise of Internet piracy.
However, observers believe it is less likely that they would allow the global music business to consolidate from five to three large players. Eric Nicoli, EMI chairman, and Jeff Bewkes, chairman of Time Warner’s entertainment network division, had talks last week in a meeting which people familiar with the matter described as ‘constructive’. Sources said EMI had promised a senior role for Roger Ames, head of Warner Music, in the enlarged group if a deal is agreed.
The talks come as EMI also considers a rival approach from a private consortium led by Edgar Bronfman, the former chief executive of Seagram, and Haim Saban, the billionaire media investor. The group, backed by private equity investors, is thought to be willing to pay more than US$2.2 billion for Warner Music’s operations including its Warner Chappell music publishing arm.
EMI is proposing to pay Time Warner about US$1 billion in cash for Warner Music while giving it a 25 per cent stake in the enlarged company. The deal would allow Time Warner separately to sell Warner Chappell, valued at about US$1.2 billion.
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.
