Network18 leads CTV Revolution, sets digital growth agenda for 2026

Network18 has reported a landmark digital performance in 2025, driven by rapid growth across Connected TV (CTV), YouTube and social platforms, reinforcing its leadership in the digital news ecosystem.

Building on its stellar performance last year, the network is redefining how Indian audiences consume news and long-form content, while laying a strong foundation for accelerated growth in 2026.

In 2025, Connected TV emerged as the new living room screen, reviving multi-generation co-viewing. Audiences increasingly turned to CTV for news and long-form programming, combining the familiarity of traditional television with the flexibility and choice of digital platforms.

Strong CTV Scale and Engagement

Network18 achieved 2.5 billion CTV views in 2025, registering a 26 percent year-on-year increase, reflecting deeper audience engagement, and longer watch durations. The performance was powered by a focused strategy of cross-screen content distribution, designed to serve viewers seamlessly, from mobile-first consumption to large-screen viewing, across multiple languages and formats.

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Connected TV is fast becoming a core media and advertising platform, with India embracing it as a performance-ready channel. Fueled by rising smart TV adoption and expanding broadband access, CTV is reshaping the living room experience and positioning Network18 at the forefront of large-screen news consumption.

Commenting on the milestone, Pranav Bakshi, Chief Growth Officer, Network18 Connected, Network18, said, “Our 2025 performance demonstrates the true potential of Connected TV as an anchor screen for news consumption in India. We’ve expanded our digital reach dramatically while transforming the way audiences experience news and storytelling at home. Our achievements across CTV, YouTube, and social underscore Network18’s commitment to innovation and high-quality storytelling at scale.”

Focus Sharpens on 2026

Network18 will intensify its focus on CTV-led growth in 2026. The group plans to invest further in CTV-specific content curation designed for large-screen viewing and evolving audience preferences. It will also work closely with advertisers to deliver better outcomes by enabling them to reach the right audiences in the right content environments, with stronger targeting and measurement-led solutions.

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To expand its CTV footprint further, Network18 is working towards building a world-class CTV infrastructure and solutions stack for viewers and advertisers globally. The network is now available across leading OEM and OTT ecosystems, including JioHotstar, JioTV, Samsung, Xiaomi, LG, and others.

In addition, the group is also developing its own CTV-first app, slated for launch in 2026, to deliver curated large-screen experiences.

Record Digital Consumption Beyond CTV

Beyond CTV, Network18 continued to dominate digital consumption metrics in 2025. The network recorded 56 billion total views across platforms, the highest for any news publisher globally in a single calendar year. Watch hours surged 87%, rising from 1.4 billion to 3 billion, highlighting sustained audience engagement.

Twelve Network18 channels ranked No.1 in their respective YouTube categories in December 2025, while the group crossed 6 billion views, outperforming its competitors nearly three times.

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Network18 also commands a 200-million-strong audience on YouTube, supported by content in English, Hindi and more than 13 regional languages. Across social platforms, its footprint expanded to 386 million followers.

The strong metrics reinforce Network18's position as the most influential news and information network in India’s digital media landscape. It reflects Network18’s focus on content excellence, cultural relevance and platform-specific innovation, spanning breaking news to long-form storytelling, while strengthening its leadership in India’s rapidly evolving digital media landscape.