Mumbai: Republic TV’s coverage of the Union Budget 2018 created history by breaking viewership records in the English News genre. In its first year of existence the channel has proven its mettle, time and again by showcasing exclusive content. Budget 2018 was no different.Republic TV was live since 7AM on Budget Day, February 1 and garnered an All India market share of 45% with Average Time Spent of 10.11 minutes. Many eminent politicians such as Arun Jaitley, Union Minister of Finance, Nitin Gadkari, Minister of Water Resources; Suresh Prabhu, Minister of Commerce and Industry; and corporate leaders such as Naina Lal Kidwai, Former country head of HSBC Bank, Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, Chairperson, Biocon among others were live on the channel.
During Super Prime Time from 9PM – 11PM, when The Debate with Republic TV Editor-in-Chief, Arnab Goswami was telecast, the market share was a whopping 68% with a time spent of 9.27 Minutes, 32% higher than the next nearest channel in the genre.
Republic TV was also the first of private news networks to interview Finance Minister, Arun Jaitley, and the official network partner for the Open House with the Finance Minister on the day following the Union Budget 2018.
The channel garnered 81% market share in the All India market* and time spent of 7 minutes during the telecast of the Exclusive Interview with FM Arun Jaitley* and a resounding 72 % market share during the telecast of the Open House in the All India market* with an average time spent of 14.16 minutes
Commenting on the numbers, Vikas Khanchandani, CEO, Republic TV said that ‘Republic TV broke viewership records since its very first day of broadcast and has since gone from strength to strength on the back of exclusive content broken first in the market. The Union Budget 2018 was no exception. With the last Full Budget before National Elections in 2019, this year was crucial in defining the incumbent governments strategy and hence eagerly awaited by the viewers. Our market share displays our clear hold over the English news viewer.’
* Source: BARC TG: NCCS AB Male 22+ Market: All India
![Beyond Ello, you can expect [x]cubeLABS to lead the transition from generic “chatbots” to Vertical AI Agents: Sridhar Muppidi](https://www.medianews4u.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Sridhar-Muppidi-Ello-350x250.png)
