News Broadcasting
V6 challenges suspension; BARC to place facts before court
MUMBAI: V6 News, from the stable of the Telugu channel popular across Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, also wants to challenge Broadcast Audience Research Council India (BARC India) after the latter suspended its ratings review for some weeks along with other two channels on 24 November, 2016.
BARC India, the only television audience measurement body in India, had temporarily suspended the review of viewership of three news channels. BARC communicated to all the broadcasters that ratings for India News, TV9 Telugu and V6 News were suspended owing to suspected mala fide practices.
Media buying and planning (advertising) agencies and brands had reacted strongly or cautiously when it came to commenting on famous yet delinquent channels. Dentsu Aegis chairman Ashish Bhasin had lauded the BARC decision: “It is a bold step taken by BARC to name and shame the mischievous entities.” It sends out a warning message to the channels to behave, and will act as a deterrent for other possible mischief-mongers that could spoil the purity of the currency for a Rs 20000 crore annual TV advertising business in India, Bhasin said.
However, the Bombay High Court on 6 December stayed the suspension of ratings review of India News even as BARC hinted at continuing its crusade. Describing the suspension of India News ratings as ‘arbitrary and illegal’, the court stated that the suspension and subsequent communication to all the subscribers has prima-facie been seen as a reputation-maligning action, a press release from India News stated. India News CEO Varun Kohli said, “India News is a credible news channel in the broadcasting business in the country and has grown consistently in the last four years both in the times of BARC ratings and TAM ratings, the predecessor of BARC.”
Reacting to the judgement, BARC India CEO Partho Dasgupta said: “We will continue to act as per our board and government guidelines, with the objective of providing the Indian broadcast industry with an accurate, robust and reliable television audience measurement system.”
Players in the news eco-system meantime saw an overall decline in the ratings, according to BARC week 48. Since the court stay, observers have been wondering whether other two erring and suspended yet holier-than-thou channels would also knock at the doors of the courts of law seeking redressal.
“We have filed a suit against the suspension of V6 review by BARC India,” V6 CEO Ravi Ankam communicated to Indiantelevision.com through the chief technical officer Kishore Kumar late yesterday evening. However, Ankam did not reveal the details, saying the “matter was sub-judice.”
When contacted for its comment on V6 News decision, BARC India was prompt in its curt reply. “We will place the facts in (the) court. At this stage, as the matters are sub-judice, it would not be appropriate for us to say anything more. We are confident of what we are doing,” the ratings body CEO said.
TV9 Telugu shied from reacting or commenting on BARC India action or the court stay. TV9 head of marketing Clifford Pereira passed on the responsibility of speaking to the media to the chief financial officer KVN Murthy. When Indiantelevision.com contacted CFO Murthy, he sought time as he was driving out of town for a private meeting, and then chose not to respond to calls or text messages.
Also Read
HC stays India News ratings suspension; BARC hints at continuing crusade
‘Name and shame delinquent channels’
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.
