Network18's flagship vs multi-source transparency. Compare corporate-owned journalism with AI-powered bias detection.
News18 (formerly CNN-IBN) is part of Network18 group, owned by Reliance Industries, offering English and regional language news through TV channels and digital platforms. The Balanced News takes a different approach - aggregating 50+ sources including News18 and using AI to show you how different outlets (with different ownership) frame the same story.
Disclosure: This comparison was written by The Balanced News team. We've aimed to be fair to both apps, but readers should be aware of our perspective.
News18 (formerly CNN-IBN) was co-founded by Rajdeep Sardesai and Raghav Bahl in 2005 as a CNN-branded English news channel. It was widely regarded as one of India's most credible news operations in its early years. Rajdeep Sardesai's journalistic reputation lent the channel significant credibility among English-speaking audiences.
In 2014, Reliance Industries acquired a controlling stake in Network18 (which owns News18) through a complex financial deal worth approximately Rs 4,000 crore. This acquisition made Mukesh Ambani-controlled Reliance the owner of India's largest private media network — including TV18, News18, CNBC-TV18, Moneycontrol, and several regional news channels. The acquisition was controversial because it gave India's largest industrial conglomerate control over a significant portion of the news landscape.
Post-acquisition, News18 dropped the CNN branding (replacing it with CNN-News18, now just News18). Many of the original editorial team departed. Critics allege that News18's coverage of Reliance and Jio has become noticeably favorable since the ownership change, while coverage of Reliance competitors has become more critical. Network18 now operates 13 news channels in different languages, making it India's largest news network by channel count.
The Reliance ownership creates a fundamental question about editorial independence that every News18 consumer should consider. When India's largest conglomerate owns your news source, how does that affect coverage of industries Reliance operates in — telecom, retail, energy, media itself?
| Feature | The Balanced News | News18 |
|---|---|---|
| Multi-Source Bias Detection | ✓ | ✗ |
| Original Reporting | ✗ | ✓ |
| News Sources | 50+ sources (incl. News18) | Network18 only |
| Political Bias Scores (Left/Center/Right) | ✓ | ✗ |
| Live TV Streaming | ✗ | ✓ |
| Regional Language Coverage | 7 languages | 10+ regional channels |
| Lens Score (Underreported Story Detection) | ✓ | ✗ |
| Video Content | Limited | Extensive |
| Personalized Feeds | 40+ curated feeds | Basic categories |
| Sentiment Analysis | ✓ | ✗ |
| Free to Use | ✓ | ✓ |
| Brand Network | Independent | Network18 (Reliance-backed) |
| Editorial Independence | No corporate owner | Reliance Industries ownership |
Independent platform with no corporate conglomerate ownership. No advertising relationships with news sources being analyzed. Bias detection applies equally to all 50+ sources regardless of corporate affiliation.
Owned by Reliance Industries (via Network18), India's largest conglomerate with interests in telecom (Jio), retail (Reliance Retail), energy, and media. Editorial decisions exist within this corporate context.
This is the fundamental differentiator. News18's journalism exists within Reliance's corporate structure. TBN exists independently. When a story involves Reliance, Jio, or their competitors, comparing News18's coverage against independent outlets on TBN reveals patterns that single-source consumption can't.
7 languages with AI analysis. Sources from all major language markets. Cross-regional comparison reveals how the same national story plays differently in different states.
13 regional news channels — more than any other Indian media group. Deep presence in Hindi, Kannada, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Bangla, Gujarati, Marathi, Odia, Assamese, and Punjabi markets.
News18's regional network is the most extensive in India. TBN's advantage is comparing coverage across these regional markets rather than within any single one. News18 Kannada and News18 Tamil may cover the same story differently — TBN shows you these regional framing differences.
Focused analytical tool — bias scoring, source comparison, Lens Score for underreported stories. Clean, ad-free interface designed for news analysis.
Comprehensive digital platform with news, videos, live TV, entertainment, and sports. High traffic but ad-heavy experience. Content-rich but commercially driven user experience.
News18's digital platform is content-rich but advertisement-dense. TBN is focused and ad-free. Different philosophies — News18 monetizes through ads (which create content conflicts), TBN maintains independence from advertising.
Lens Score specifically identifies stories that mainstream outlets underreport. Cross-source comparison reveals when multiple outlets skip a story. No corporate interest creates coverage blind spots.
Comprehensive coverage across categories but with potential blind spots around Reliance's business interests and competitors. Coverage of Jio vs Airtel, or Reliance Retail vs Amazon, should be read with ownership context.
Every outlet has blind spots. News18's are predictable — Reliance-related stories deserve cross-checking. TBN makes this cross-checking automatic by showing you how independent outlets cover the same corporate stories.
Example: Jio vs Airtel Price War. When Jio announces new pricing and Airtel responds, this is a story where News18's ownership becomes directly relevant. News18's coverage of the price war may emphasize Jio's value proposition while focusing on limitations of Airtel's response. Independent outlets might provide more balanced analysis of both companies' strategies.
On The Balanced News, you see how News18 covers the price war alongside how Economic Times (Bennett Coleman), Mint (HT Media), Business Standard (independent), and other outlets with no stake in either company analyze the same story. The bias meter reveals the coverage split. When you see News18's coverage alongside genuinely independent analysis, ownership influence patterns become visible.
This isn't about News18 lying — it's about subtle framing that's invisible when you consume only one source. Which company's prices are highlighted first? Which expert quotes are selected? What context is provided or omitted? These editorial micro-decisions shape your understanding, and only cross-source comparison reveals them.
News18 provides strong regional coverage with extensive original reporting. If you value their journalism and regional language content, it's a solid choice. But if you want to see how their coverage compares to outlets not owned by Reliance and understand the full spectrum of perspectives, The Balanced News provides that transparency.
News18's regional coverage is valuable — keep using it for local news in your language. But for national stories, especially those involving Reliance, Jio, telecom, retail, or energy sectors, use TBN to cross-check News18's coverage against independent outlets. Download TBN and compare how News18 covers corporate India versus how independent business publications cover the same stories. The patterns become clear quickly.
For News18 regional channel viewers, TBN offers a valuable complement — see how your regional channel's national coverage compares to other outlets' framing of the same story. Regional channels sometimes carry different editorial positions than the national News18 brand.