News Broadcasting
TV18 appoints Sify’s Surya Mantha as Web18 CEO
MUMBAI: Television Eighteen group has appointed Surya Mantha as the chief executive officer for its internet business arm – Web 18. Mantha brings with him 15 years of experience that spans business management, consulting, product and service development, product management and marketing across a range of business and consumer software, hardware and services companies.
Prior to joining Web18, he was heading the interactive service business for Sify India based out of Chennai. He had also spent several years at RealNetworks in Seattle WA, USA, according to an official release.
TV18 group CEO Haresh Chawla says, “Mantha brings with him a unique combination of skills & experience spanning both technology and consumer understanding, particularly in the internet space. This will go a long way in establishing Web18’s dominance in the consumer Internet space in India. We are also confident that his experience in a global environment will help scale up Web18 into the global league.”
This follows close to the group acquiring three Internet companies – Cricketnext.com, Compareindia.com and Urban Eye, a web design and technology firm. The acquisitions will help the group consolidate its focus on the internet business further. This was the second round of acquisitions that Web18 has announced. The company acquired stakes in Yatra.com and Jobstreet.com India a few months ago.
The Indian Internet industry is on the verge of explosive growth. By 2008, the online user base is expected to grow to 100 million. Web18 has been consistently growing its Internet presence organically as well as through relevant acquisitions in the consumer Internet space.
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.
