News Broadcasting
TV18 Group creates new division TV18 Media Networks, names Saikumar CEO
MUMBAI: Raghav Bahl’s Television Eighteen Group has fused all its marketing and sales operations under a new division TV18 Media Networks. The group has promoted its VP sales and marketing B Saikumar as CEO of the division.
Speaking on the rationale behind the move, TV18 CEO Haresh Chawla said, “TV18, today stands as the largest news network with four news channels. It is merely to consolidate all the sales and marketing activities.”
When quizzed if the group was adopting a similar model to that of NDTV Ltd’s subsidiary NDTV Media (which manages the company’s ad sales and marketing), Saikumar said, “This is a division and very much part of the group. We are involved in activities of designing promos besides sales and marketing.” He declined to comment any further on the matter.
As CEO of TV18 Media Networks, Saikumar will have all the heads of sales and marketing from various channels of the news network – English business news channel CNBC TV18, Hindi consumer channel Awaaz, English news channel CNN-IBN and Hindi news channel Channel7 (soon to be re-named as IBN7) reporting in to him. Saikumar, meanwhile, continues to report in to Chawla.
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.
