News Broadcasting
Tribune: Blackstone may join Fox in purchase race
MUMBAI: Fox and a New York firm, possibly Blackstone, are planning to form a joint venture to buy Tribune which owns or operates 42 stations, with Fox contributing its 28 owned-and-operated stations and Blackstone providing cash.
The potential multi-billion-dollar deal would make Fox US’s largest single broadcast station owner.
Meanwhile, Fox News Channel on Monday said that co-president Bill Shine has left the company, the latest high-level departure at a network troubled with charges of discrimination that already claimed founding CEO Roger Ailes and Bill O’Reilly.
Fox and Blackstone are together hoping to beat a rival offer from Sinclair Broadcasting, the largest owner of TV stations in the US. Baltimore-based Sinclair, which owns 173 stations, has stations in midsize and small markets.
Sinclair was also in the running for Tribune, which could give the former significantly more leverage in talks with Fox.
Under current rules, however, the national TV audience that any single owner can access with its stations is capped at 39 per cent. Since President Trump elevated Pai to lead FCC, the commission has changed rules and made public statements announcing that it intends to scale back limits placed on station ownership. If Sinclair or Fox purchased Tribune, they would go past the current FCC limits.
Another current FCC regulation that could obstruct Sinclair or Fox purchase of Tribune is the local ownership rule which disallows any owner from running more than two stations in most markets.
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.
