In today's world, staying up-to-date with global events doesn't necessarily involve reading newspapers or watching television. Most of the information people receive comes from the internet and social media. Streaming platforms have long become a convenient tool both for broadcasting and accessing current news. Streams Charts continues to sum up the year by presenting the top 10 most popular news channels.
Top News & Politics Channels in live-streaming in 2023
|
Place
|
Channel
|
Platform |
Hours Watched
|
|---|---|---|---|
| #1
|
Al Jazeera Arabic Live
|
YouTube
|
280.10M
|
| #2
|
Todo Noticias
|
YouTube
|
228.91M
|
| #3
|
Aaj Tak
|
YouTube
|
217.40M
|
| #4
|
Zee News
|
YouTube
|
148.07M
|
| #5
|
LA NACION
|
YouTube
|
115.43M
|
| #6
|
TV9 Bharatvarsh
|
YouTube
|
100.58M
|
| #7
|
IndiaTV
|
YouTube
|
83.40M
|
| #8
|
CNN Brasil
|
YouTube
|
80.98M
|
| #9
|
SBT RS
|
YouTube
|
78.61M
|
| #10
|
Republic Bharat
|
YouTube |
76.14M
|
Many television channels now duplicate their broadcasts, streaming live on YouTube alongside cable or satellite broadcasts. They often use this service because it's the most popular worldwide and offers several useful features (such as automatic subtitle translation).
The News & Politics section is one of the most popular on YouTube. In 2022, it took first place among all sections, generating over 3.93B Hours Watched. In 2023, it has already accumulated over 6.4B, trailing slightly behind the Entertainment section, the platform's leader. This trend indicates that viewers' interest in politics, global news, and similar content continues to grow.
Top News & Politics Channels in live-streaming in 2023
The most popular news channel in 2023 turned out to be the Al Jazeera Arabic Live channel on YouTube, generating over 280.1M Hours Watched over the year. The broadcasts on Al Jazeera Arabic Live run round the clock, predominantly showcasing regional and global news, celebrity interviews, documentaries, analytical shows, and more. Geared toward a wide Arabic-speaking audience, the content covers diverse topics significant not only to the Middle East but beyond.
Taking the second spot in the rankings with 229M Hours Watched was Todo Noticias. This channel predominantly covers events in Argentina, including news on politics, economics, culture, sports, and more. One of the main focuses in 2023 was the presidential elections in Argentina, with Todo Noticias broadcasting debates among candidates.
Aaj Tak emerged as India's most popular news channel. In 2023, its broadcasts amassed 217.4M Hours Watched. Aaj Tak provides round-the-clock coverage of events within and beyond India, including news, politics, reports on current issues, interviews with various experts and celebrities, and more.
The Indian news channel Zee News generated just over 148M Hours Watched in 2023. Its content type is similar to other top news channels. However, its standout moment was achieving the highest viewership peak, with over 651.6K people simultaneously watching the live broadcast of the Chandrayaan-3 landing. This marked India's first mission to reach the lunar surface.
LA NACION emerged as the second most popular news channel in Argentina, reporting on events within the country and abroad. In 2023, it generated 115.4M Hours Watched — twice the amount it had in the previous year. A significant portion of LA NACION's content revolved around the Argentine presidential elections, featuring commentary from various experts, political analysts, and economists on this subject.
The Indian channel TV9 Bharatvarsh claimed the sixth position in the rankings with 100.5M Hours Watched. This channel led the top list in terms of airtime in 2023, with broadcasts totaling over 111.7K hours. The channel simultaneously streams about 20 broadcasts, mostly focusing on global politics and the wars in Ukraine and Israel.
IndiaTV generated 83.4M Hours Watched in 2023, securing the seventh spot in the rankings. Primarily dedicated to India's domestic politics, the channel frequently features stories related to elections, parliament, and India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
CNN Brasil stood as Brazil's most popular news channel, covering both local news and global events. The content theme on CNN Brasil spans across various topics including economics, expert commentary, presidential addresses, police briefings, international politics, environmental issues, healthcare, and more. In 2023, CNN Brasil's broadcasts amassed 81M Hours Watched.
Ranking ninth with 78.6M Hours Watched was the Brazilian channel SBT RS. It primarily provides content on events in the Rio Grande do Sul region, informing local viewers about different scandals, crimes, comical incidents, and more. The channel also includes entertainment content like musical programs or TV series. SBT RS's news agenda is more region-specific, although significant global news also finds a place on the channel.
The Indian channel Republic Bharat accumulated 76.1M Hours Watched over the year, securing the tenth position in the rankings. The channel hosts multiple experts conducting parallel broadcasts primarily discussing India's internal political landscape.
Compared to 2022, all the top news channels in 2023 saw an increase in their viewing time. The most significant progress was witnessed by Al Jazeera Arabic (+240%) and SBT RS (+238%).
Most Watched News & Politics Channels in USA
Among American news channels, NBC News emerged as the most popular in 2023, generating 54.3M Hours Watched — nearly three times more than Newsmax, the second most popular news channel in the United States.
Overall, most American news channels primarily focus on covering global events such as the wars in Ukraine and Israel. They also pay significant attention to the upcoming presidential elections in the US. However, the content presentation on these channels often depends on the political leanings of the respective media outlets.
Most Watched News & Politics Channels in Europe
Half of the top European news channels were occupied by online broadcasts of Ukrainian TV channels. The leader was the channel «Факти ICTV», which generated 72.7M Hours Watched over the year, mainly focusing its content on the war in Ukraine.
Also making it into the top three most popular European news channels was «Телеканал Дождь» broadcasting from Latvia. Among other channels in the top ten were German WELT, Spanish RTVE Noticias, and French FRANCE 24.
News channels on other platforms
Regarding news on other platforms, Twitch doesn't have a specific news category like YouTube. However, some streamers, such as HasanAbi, regularly cover global news during streams in the Just Chatting section. As for Kick, the platform has a News category, but it hosts very few channels. Throughout the year, only 35 channels streamed in this category, most having just one stream. The leader in Kick's News section was the American streamer bige. His streams mostly focused on significant news surrounding the platform itself, like streamers transitioning from Twitch, etc. In 2023, bige's broadcasts in the News section on Kick generated around 135K Hours Watched and peaked with 9.6K viewers.
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