Network18 channels dominate global top news streams on Union Budget Day 2026

New Delhi: Network18 on Sunday said its news and business channels dominated the world’s top-viewed digital news live streams on Union Budget Day 2026, with CNBC-AWAAZ, CNBC-TV18, News18 India and CNN-News18 featuring among the top streams.

The network also shared a screenshot of the “Worldwide” top-viewing list on the day, showing Network18 streams occupying multiple top positions.

In the peak live window between 11:00 am and 12:40 pm, CNBC-AWAAZ led digital news live streams with a peak concurrency of 765.1K, followed by News18 India at 667.1K, CNBC-TV18 at 581.3K, and CNN-News18 at 362.0K, the company said.

Network18 said its lead channels maintained an edge over key competitors during the Budget Day window. Among rival channels, Zee Business recorded a peak concurrency of 211.5K, Aaj Tak saw 153.1K, and NDTV Profit registered 137.3K, it added, citing Databeings as the source.

The network claimed News18 India delivered 4.3x higher concurrency than Aaj Tak, CNBC-AWAAZ recorded 3.5x the viewership of Zee Business, and CNBC-TV18 achieved 4.24x higher concurrency than NDTV Profit, as per Databeings.

It also said CNN-News18 clocked 4.95x concurrency compared with India Today during the same period.

The company attributed the performance to real-time Budget coverage, expert-led analysis and explainers, and said its integration across TV, digital and social helped it command audience attention during a high-impact news moment.