News Broadcasting
Times Network emerges as the fastest growing Digital Video News Publisher Across News Categories
Mumbai: Times Network, India’s premium broadcast network, emerged as the fastest-growing digital news networks in the country, amassing over four billion monthly reach across channels during February 2023-24. This milestone solidifies its position as the go-to source for credible, accurate, and decisive news & analysis across English and Hindi general news and business news categories.
Dominating the digital news video landscape, Times Now emerged as the most watched English news channel on YouTube, garnering over 8.1 crore views in February 2024 and clocking close to one billion reach every month. Reaffirming its position as a formidable force in the English news category, Times Now demonstrated exceptional growth, recording an impressive surge of 185% during February 2023-24. During pivotal National events like the Ram Mandir inauguration and Republic Day, the channel dominated YouTube with a staggering peak live concurrency of over 2 lakh viewers on Republic Day. (Source: Databeings & Playboard Data)
In a remarkable surge, Times Now Navbharat experienced an unprecedented growth of 235%, emerging as the fastest-growing Hindi news channel on YouTube between February 2023 and February 2024. Outshining its counterparts by threefold in year-on-year expansion, Times Now Navbharat has amassed 90 lakh subscribers on YouTube in just two and a half years since its inception, solidifying its position as a preferred choice of Hindi heartland. Boasting over 2.4 billion reach and garnering 30 crore monthly views, the channel has become the go-to destination for viewers. Notably, the channel witnessed a surge of 373% in LIVE views in FY24 compared to the previous fiscal year and a substantial increase in watch time by about 450% during FY24. (Source: Playboard data)
In the English business news category, ET Now experienced an astonishing 853% y-o-y growth. Subsequently, ET Now Swadesh’s YouTube views surged by 245% year-on-year in the Hindi business news category. The two business channels together have a reach of around half a billion every month. (Source: Playboard data)
Times Network COO and president Rohit Chadda said, “This is a remarkable growth trajectory for Times Network, making it the preferred news publisher in digital videos across the world. All our news channels have consistently outpaced competition in growth, underscoring our unwavering commitment to excellence. With the rise in SVOD consumption in the entertainment genre, Live News is one of the few genres that still allow brands to advertise to premium consumers at scale. Our bespoke video advertising solutions empower brands to craft compelling messages and strategically target the right audiences. This momentum encourages us to continue creating innovative content solutions for the brands and setting industry benchmarks.”
News Broadcasting
CNN-News18 to air live counting day coverage for five state election results on May 4
The channel is rolling out its biggest election coverage machinery yet for results day on 4th May
NOIDA: The votes have been cast. Now comes the reckoning. CNN-News18 is pulling out all the stops for results day on 4th May, when counting begins across five battleground states — West Bengal, Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and the Union Territory of Puducherry — in what promises to be one of the most closely watched electoral verdicts in recent memory.
The channel’s coverage, titled Battle for the States: The Verdict, kicks off at 7am and runs through the day across linear TV, connected television and YouTube. It is the culmination of CNN-News18’s multi-format editorial initiative, Battle for the States, which has tracked the polls from the beginning under the theme Road to Power.
At the operational heart of the coverage will be the Live Results Hub, the channel’s central command centre built to collate, verify and process real-time data flowing in from reporters stationed at counting centres across constituencies. The hub combines newsroom intelligence, analytics and on-the-ground reporting to deliver what the channel promises will be the fastest and most accurate results coverage in English news.
Leading the on-air charge will be primetime anchors Rahul Shivshankar, Anand Narasimhan, Aman Sharma, Nabila Jamal and Shivani Gupta. They will be joined by a wide panel of commentators including author Chetan Bhagat; GVL Narasimha Rao, senior leader of the BJP; Smita Prakash, editor of ANI; activist Saira Shah Halim; political analyst Sumanth C Raman; Abhijit Iyer Mitra, senior fellow at IPCS; Amitabh Tiwari, founder of VoteVibe; columnist Abhijit Majumdar; Nalin Mehta, managing editor of MoneyControl; political analyst Tehseen Poonawalla; senior journalist Subir Bhaumik; and political analyst Manojit Mandal.
Shivshankar, who serves as editorial affairs director at CNN-News18, set out the stakes plainly. “Counting day is one of the most watched events in the electoral cycle, where speed and credibility are tested in real time,” he said. “Battle for the States: The Verdict is built on that promise, combining ground reporting, sharp analysis and cutting-edge election technology to give viewers the clearest and fastest route to the verdict. On May 4, CNN-News18 will once again be the nation’s most trusted channel to witness democracy in action.”
Smriti Mehra, chief executive of English and Business News at Network18, framed the coverage in broader terms. “Elections are defining national events, and audiences turn to brands they trust in moments that matter,” she said. “CNN-News18 has consistently led from the front in every election coverage, and this special programming reflects the scale of our ambition and editorial strength.”
The channel has form here. It claims to have been India’s most preferred English news destination for election results for the past 20 years, covering everything from the 2024 general elections to the Delhi, Maharashtra, Bihar and BMC polls on the back of what it calls an “Always First, Always Right” record. Five states, one day, and a nation waiting for answers. The clock starts at 7am on 4th May.
