News Broadcasting
Unity Group to launch Hindi news channel
MUMBAI: Unity Group, a part of Softline Media and Rasthtriya Outdoor Advertising, is all set to launch two channels this fiscal.
The company will launch a Hindi news channel, Unity News, and a Hindi agricultural channel called Hariyali, says a source close to the development.
“We have obtained license from the government for both the channels. The dry run for Hariyali will start in mid-September, while Unity News will commence in January,” confirms the source.
Hariyali will be headed by Rakesh Sharma, who was earlier with Jain TV. The channel will extensively cover agriculture in India with a mixture of education and information as its programming mix. The content on the channel will lay a special emphasis on issues like agriculture, health, community building, kisan chaupal (farmers discussion), self-employment schemes and women.
Rashtriya Outdoor Advertising earlier owned the religious channel Sadhna, which was later acquired by Triveni Group. As reported earlier by Indiantelevision.com, the Triveni Group will re-launch the religious channel.
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.
