Top 10 News Channels in India: Most Popular News Channels in India

News channels play a crucial role in our lives by delivering 24/7 live updates on everything happening around the world in different languages. Check out this page for the list of top news channels in India and know about them in detail.

Top News Channels in India

Top News Channels in India: Earlier, people used to rely only on newspapers and radio for daily updates. However, today, news channels have become one of the fastest and most influential sources of information. They provide information from around the world to our living rooms in real time. News channels also spark conversation, question authority, shape public opinion, and influence political and social change in society.

Nowadays, to cater to different sections of society, these news channels are offering content in various languages and formats. They are even using AI news anchors to bring non-stop 24/7 updates to people. Read this article to get a list of news channels in India, including their launch year, owner, headquarters, and slogans.

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Top 10 News Channels in India

News channels have now become an inseparable part of modern life, delivering the latest updates and connecting people with the economy, politics, culture, and global affairs. Among all news channels in India, some of them, like Aaj Tak, ABP News, Republic TV, NDTV India, CNN-News18, India TV, Times Now, Zee News, News18, and DD News, have become the top 10 news channels in India.

Check out the space below to about these news channels in detail:

Aaj Tak

Aaj Tak is one of the most viewed news channels in India. It is famous for its tagline “Sabse Tez”. This news channel focuses on in-depth news coverage and reporting, providing breaking news, dramatic presentation, and strong political and real-time coverage to the public. Some of the popular shows of the channel includes Halla Bol, Dangal, and Special Report. Its flagship show, “Aaj Tak Headlines” has a huge number of viewers in India.

Over the years, Aaj Tak has consistently dominated the Hindi news TRP and has even won the Best Hindi News Channel Award at the Indian Television Academy (ITA) Awards in the years 2021, 2023, and 2024. Besides, the channel’s punchy style and mass appeal make it a household name on Indian TVs.

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ABP News

ABP News is one of the top 10 news channels in India. ABP News was originally launched as STAR News in the year 1998 and was later rebranded as ABP News in 2012. ABP News has multiple sister channels, including ABP Ananda, ABP Asmita, ABP Majha, ABP Sanjha, ABP Ganga, ABP Live, ABP Nadu, and ABP Desam, giving a wide regional presence to the public. The channel is famous for its balanced blend of serious news and investigative journalism.

Some of the top shows run by ABP Group are Siyasat Ka Sensex, Master Stroke, and Kaun Banega Mukhyamantri. The news channel’s journalist was honored with a bronze medal at enba 2023 for Best Hindi Anchor. 

Republic TV

Republic TV is an English news channel founded by Arnab Goswami in 2017. It is one of India’s youngest yet most controversial news channels. The channel enjoys impressive TRPs in the English news segment. Besides, it stands out with its fiery debates and nationalistic tone, which continue to pose strong competition to its rivals.

The Hindi counterpart of this news channel, Republic Bharat, was launched in 2019. It has also gained popularity among the audience. Despite being criticized by people for being loud and confrontational, the channel has built a loyal audience base through its journalism.

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CNN News18

CNN-News18, earlier known as CNN-IBN is one of the leading English news channels, launched in 2005. The channel was rebranded as CNN-News18 in the year 2016. The channel broadcasts its news in India, Bhutan, Nepal, Bangladesh, the United States, South Africa, Sri Lanka, the Maldives, and Canada. CNN-News18 delivers news with a mix of global perspective and Indian issues. The channel maintains a reputation for analytical and credible reporting.

Some of the shows run by the channel include 8 AM Express, Late Night Edition, India 360, Afternoon Prime, Faceoff Tonight, and others. The slogan of CNN-News18 ‘On Your Side’ reflects that the channel follows people-focused journalism.

NDTV India

NDTV India is an Indian Hindi-language news channel known for its slogan “Khabar Wahi Jo Sach Dikhaye”. The sister channels of NDTV India are NDTV 24x7 (English counterpart of NDTV India) and NDTV Profit. NDTV India is one of the top 10 news channels in India. It has earned credibility for its fact-driven journalism. This news channel often avoids sensationalism, which is common today in other Hindi news channels.

Over the years, NDTV and its reporters have won awards and received nominations in some of the top award shows for their exceptional work. The channel runs a number of shows, such as Prime Time, Ravish ki Report, Muqabla, and many more.

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Times Now

Times Now is an English-language news channel. Until 2016, Times Now was one of the most popular and most viewed news channels in India. In 2016, the then-editor-in-chief of Times Now, Arnab Goswami, left the channel to launch Republic TV. The channel has multiple sister news channels, namely Times Now Navbharat, Zoom, ET Now, Movies Now, Romedy Now, MN+, MNX, Mirror Now, and ET Now Swadesh.

Times Now is known for its hard-hitting debates. It has shaped the face of English news television in India. Even after facing lawsuits and being part of different controversies, Times Now has managed to be in the top 10 news channels in India. One of its shows, “The Newshour’ is viewed by many people.

India TV

India TV is one of the top 10 Hindi television news channels in India. The channel was launched by Rajat Sharma and his wife Ritu Dhawan in 2004. Since then, India TV has gained popularity for delivering a mix of hard news and human-interest stories to the public. This channel comes under the top 10 news channels of India because of its reporting style.

India TV runs many popular shows, including Aap Ki Adalat, Aaj ki Taza Khabar, and Kurukshetra. Among these, Aap Ki Adalat is one of the longest-running interview shows on Indian television. This show alone is one of the major reasons for India TV being in the spotlight. Over the years, India TV has been honored with multiple awards for its innovative programming.

Zee News

Zee News is India’s first private Hindi-language news channel. It is a flagship channel of Zee Media Corporation and has a prime-time focus with debates and political programming. The channel has faced many controversies over time, including cases of fabrication. In 2020, Zee News, along with many other Indian private news channels, was banned in Nepal.

Zee TV is the sister channel of Zee News, owned by Essel Group. Some of the famous shows hosted by Zee News are Daily News & Analysis, Taal Thok Ke, and DNA.

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DD News

DD News was launched in 2003 as India’s first 24-hour news channel to be made available on both cable and terrestrial platforms. DD News is operated by Doordarshan (a division of Prasar Bharati), under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India. DD News is one of India’s top ten news channels and broadcasts news in Hindi, English, Sanskrit, and Urdu.

The sister channels of DD News are DD National, DD India, DD Sports, DD Bharati, DD Kisan, and DD Retro. DD News acts as the nation’s public broadcaster and focuses only on factual, policy-driven, and development-oriented reporting rather than showing sensational news, which is usually done by the private news channels.

DD News is widely respected for its credibility, especially in rural and remote areas, where it reaches the audience free-to-air.

News18 India

News18 India, formerly known as Channel 7 in 2005 and IBN7 from 2006 to 2015, is an Indian Hindi-language television channel, re-launched by Network18 Group in 2016. Aar Paar, Hum to Puchhenge, Desh Nahin Jhukne Denge, Bhaiya Ji Kahin, Sau Baat ki ek Baat, and Aadhi Haqeeqat Aadha Fasana are some of the popular shows on News18 India.

News18 India is popular among the public for its energetic debates, ground reporting, and coverage of national politics. Over the years, News18 India has emerged as a strong competitor to ABP News and Aaj Tak when it comes to Hindi news reporting. One of the reasons behind the credibility of News18 India is its connection with CNN-News18.

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