News Broadcasting
Network18 launches India’s local news portal www.News18.com
MUMBAI: News from India goes deeply local in the latest online news website from Network18: News18.com. India’s first web, mobile and tablet service to focus on news at the state and city level, News18.com was launched on January 26.
Available on the web, on mobile phones and tablets, and as downloadable apps for iOS and Android devices, News18.com currently covers seven states: Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand. It will expand to the remaining states of the country over the next 18 months.
News18.com draws on the unparallelled local news-gathering expertise of the ETV network of news channels, whose Hindi services cover these seven states. The deep reach of ETV News into every corner of these states generates a rich and unique stream of news, updated by the minute.
People can now follow all of these news reports, in the form of engaging video clips, instant updates, and snappy text stories, on News18.com. Local news will break fast – and first - on News18.com, and in-depth coverage of local developments and issues will keep users fully informed about their home state and city.
Highlighting the importance of local news, Lakshmi Narasimhan CEO, Web18 said, “News18 is a completely fresh approach to covering news online. With Internet penetration and smartphones users galloping in tier 2 & 3 towns, it is important to provide a convenient platform to consume news. This is the information century, with content consumption at an all time high. For somebody living in Bihar or Rajasthan it is no longer sufficient to simply know what is happening in Delhi. News18 brings you closer to your world and gets you news that truly matters to you.”
Arunava Sinha, Head, IBNLive.com & News18.com is confident that readers will enjoy the interactive user-experience of the site. “News18.com will give readers a totally fresh and unique content experience. Watching live TV on the mobile and on the dektop, keeping track of the latest developments through live tickers and smart app alerts, sharing the news of one’s choice with friends on Facebook and Twitter – users will be able to do it all.”
By taking local news beyond its borders and making it available everywhere, News18.com turns the local into the national and international. And with its availability of computers, tablets and mobiles – the first online news offering from India to be available on all three devices from day one – it brings local news within easy reach of people wherever they are.
The Network18 Group is a media and entertainment company with interests in television, Internet, films, e-commerce, magazines, mobile content and allied businesses. Through its subsidiary ‘TV18 Broadcast Ltd.’ [BSE: 532800, NSE: TV18BRDCST], the group operates news channels - CNBC-TV18, CNBC Awaaz, CNBC-TV18 Prime HD, CNN-IBN, IBN7 and IBN-Lokmat (a Marathi regional news channel in partnership with the Lokmat group). TV18 also operates a joint venture with Viacom, called Viacom18, which houses a portfolio of popular entertainment channels – Colors, Colors HD, MTV, Comedy Central, Vh1, Nick, Sonic, Nick Jr./Teen Nick and Viacom18 Motion Pictures, the group’s filmed entertainment business.
TV18 has also forayed into the Indian factual entertainment space through A+E Networks | TV18 (a joint venture between A+E Networks and TV18 Broadcast) and operates HistoryTV18. TV18 and Viacom18 have also formed a strategic joint venture called IndiaCast, a multi-platform ‘content asset monetization’ entity that drives domestic and international channel distribution, placement services and content syndication for the bouquet of channels from TV18, Viacom18 and other broadcasters. Through ‘Network18 Media & Investments Ltd.’ [BSE: 532798, NSE: Network18], the group operates its digital, publishing and e-commerce assets including moneycontrol.com, ibnlive.com, in.com and firstpost.com.
‘Network18’ also operates e-commerce properties like HomeShop18 and bookmyshow.com and publishes Forbes India, the nation’s first local edition of a foreign news magazine title, in collaboration with Forbes Media. In addition, through ‘Network18’, the group operates Network18 Publishing, a player in the special interest publishing space. ‘Network18’ has investments in Yatra, Stargaze and other Capital18 portfolio companies.
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.
