Cementing its position as the market leader in Hindi business news, CNBC AWAAZ emerged as the go-to destination for investors and market watchers during the Union Budget 2026 coverage.
According to BARC data, CNBC AWAAZ captured a dominant 63% market share during the live telecast of Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s Budget speech on 1st February 2026, significantly outperforming Zee Business, which stood at 37%.
(Source: BARC | MKT: HSM Urban | TG: 22-40 M | Period: 1st Feb 2026(1100-1230)
The leadership extended across the full Budget Day as well. On 1st February 2026, CNBC AWAAZ secured a 61.3% market share, while Zee Business registered 38.7%, highlighting CNBC AWAAZ’s dominance during one of the most competitive and high-stakes news events of the financial calendar. (Source: BARC | MKT: HSM Urban | TG: 22-40 M | Period: 1st Feb 2026)
Budget Day traditionally drives intense viewer engagement, as audiences track policy announcements, taxation reforms, sectoral allocations, fiscal discipline measures, and their real-time impact on markets. CNBC AWAAZ’s comprehensive coverage, blending expert analysis, corporate voices, and live market decoding, resonated strongly with its core audience of investors and traders.
The momentum carried into Budget Week, where CNBC AWAAZ maintained a commanding lead with a 76.4% market share, compared to Zee Business at 23.6%, less than half of CNBC AWAAZ’s share, reaffirming sustained viewer preference beyond the headline announcements. (Source: BARC | MKT: HSM 10L+ | TG: 22-40 M | Period: Wk 05’26)
On the digital front as well, CNBC AWAAZ emerged among the world’s top-viewed live news streams on Union Budget Day 2026. During the peak live window between 11:00 am and 12:40 pm, the channel emerged as the clear leader in digital viewership, registering a peak concurrency of 765.1K, recording 3.5x the viewership of Zee Business, highlighting its growing cross-platform strength. (Source: Databeings)
With sustained leadership across key market hours and critical policy moments, CNBC AWAAZ continues to strengthen its position as India’s most-watched Hindi business news channel, setting new benchmarks year after year.