# Republic TV
**Republic TV** is a private English-language news and current affairs television channel in India, launched on 6 May 2017 as a free-to-air channel and based in Mumbai and Bengaluru.[1](https://indianexpress.com/article/business/companies/arnab-goswami-led-republic-tv-goes-live-4642994/) • [2](https://in.linkedin.com/company/republicdigital) It is the flagship English channel of the Republic Media Network, founded by the anchor **Arnab Goswami**, who left his previous role as editor-in-chief of [Times Now](https://www.edgepedia.org/times-now) to start it.[3](https://india.mom-gmr.org/en/media/detail/outlet/republic-tv/) • [4](https://www.uv.ac.za/docs/librariesprovider21/default-document-library/piie-report-final.pdf?sfvrsn=624e4920_0)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Launch | 6 May 2017, as a free-to-air English news channel, part of ARG Outlier Media Private Limited[1](https://indianexpress.com/article/business/companies/arnab-goswami-led-republic-tv-goes-live-4642994/) |
| Base | Mumbai and Bengaluru, India; national geographic coverage; free-to-air satellite and cable[2](https://in.linkedin.com/company/republicdigital) • [3](https://india.mom-gmr.org/en/media/detail/outlet/republic-tv/) |
| Ownership | ARG Outlier Media Asianet News Pvt Ltd, 99.99% owned by SARG Media Holding; Arnab Goswami holds 70% and Samyabrata Goswami 23% of the holding company, with investor Ajay Rameshchandra Garg holding 7%[3](https://india.mom-gmr.org/en/media/detail/outlet/republic-tv/) |
| Co-founder | Rajeev Chandrashekhar, later a BJP politician, who has since sold his shares[4](https://www.uv.ac.za/docs/librariesprovider21/default-document-library/piie-report-final.pdf?sfvrsn=624e4920_0) |
| Network channels | Republic TV (English), Republic Bharat (Hindi, launched 2 February 2019), Republic Bangla (Bengali, 7 March 2021) and Republic Kannada[5](https://www.republicworld.com/about-us) |
| Claimed viewership | Republic TV states it has held the number 1 spot among Indian English news channels since launch week, exceeding 50% all-day viewership share and reaching 80% during its primetime debate[5](https://www.republicworld.com/about-us) |
| Digital estate | republicworld.com, owned and maintained by SARG Global Digital Private Ltd, a subsidiary of holding company ARG Outlier Media Pvt Ltd[6](https://www.republicworld.com/policies-disclaimers) |
## Launch
Republic TV went live on 6 May 2017 with a monologue by [Arnab Goswami](https://www.edgepedia.org/arnab-goswami) thanking viewers for their support. The channel was free-to-air from launch, a positioning Goswami had announced to his audience in advance, and it was carried on distribution platforms including Tata Sky, Airtel and [Dish TV](https://www.edgepedia.org/dish-tv).[1](https://indianexpress.com/article/business/companies/arnab-goswami-led-republic-tv-goes-live-4642994/) • [7](https://www.financialexpress.com/india-news/arnab-goswami-republic-tv-launches-channel-on-tata-sky-airtel-dish-tv-videocon-online-twiiter/656491/lite/) • [8](https://www.linkedin.com/posts/republic-world_republiclivesoon-a-message-from-arnab-goswami-activity-6265813810670632960-JXMl) It was the first channel of what became the Republic Media Network, whose self-declared slogan at launch was 'Nation First'.[5](https://www.republicworld.com/about-us)
**Ownership.** The channel is owned and managed by ARG Outlier Media Asianet News Private Limited, a subsidiary of SARG Media Holding Private Limited, which holds 99.99% of the operating company. Arnab Goswami and his wife Samyabrata Goswami hold 70% and 23% of SARG Media Holding respectively, with the remaining 7% held by investor Ajay Rameshchandra Garg, managing director of Equirus Capital.[3](https://india.mom-gmr.org/en/media/detail/outlet/republic-tv/) At the channel's launch, Goswami's promoter entity held around 84% of equity in ARG Outlier Media, a shareholding the network published in 2020 when it stated that Goswami controlled 82% equity.[9](https://www.republicworld.com/business/republic-media-networks-shareholding-public-arnab-goswami-sole-owner) Rajeev Chandrashekhar, a businessman elected to the [Rajya Sabha](https://www.edgepedia.org/rajya-sabha) from [Karnataka](https://www.edgepedia.org/karnataka) as an independent in 2006 and 2012, was a co-founder and a director of the operating company; after formally joining the [Bharatiya Janata Party](https://www.edgepedia.org/bharatiya-janata-party) in 2018 he resigned from the position, and he has since sold his shares, leaving Goswami as the main shareholder.[4](https://www.uv.ac.za/docs/librariesprovider21/default-document-library/piie-report-final.pdf?sfvrsn=624e4920_0) Goswami is simultaneously the network's founder, chairman, managing director, and editor-in-chief.[4](https://www.uv.ac.za/docs/librariesprovider21/default-document-library/piie-report-final.pdf?sfvrsn=624e4920_0) • [5](https://www.republicworld.com/about-us)
## Programming and format
The channel is known for its debate format, led by Goswami, described by the Media Ownership Monitor as no-holds-barred and often loud and cacophonic.[3](https://india.mom-gmr.org/en/media/detail/outlet/republic-tv/) Its flagship primetime program is *The Debate with Arnab Goswami*; other programs named in promotional material include Nation Wants To Know, Patriot with Major Gaurav Arya, and the Sunday Debate.[3](https://india.mom-gmr.org/en/media/detail/outlet/republic-tv/) • [10](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IsJtcEGH-p8)
## Viewership
Republic TV's own material states that it has been India's number one English news channel in viewership since its launch week, with all-day viewership shares above 50% and 80% during its primetime debate.[5](https://www.republicworld.com/about-us) Independent data confirms strong reach: the Reuters Institute Digital News Report found Republic TV among legacy platforms with high offline and online viewership in its younger, urban, largely English-speaking 2024 sample, and Republic TV Online recorded a 21 percent weekly online reach in a 2024 ranking led by NDTV Online at 29 percent.[11](https://reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk/digital-news-report/2024/india) • [12](https://www.indianbroadcastingworld.com/ndtv-leading-news-brand-in-reuters/) A survey by the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies found the highest support for the BJP, 67%, among respondents who watched Republic TV the most, ahead of viewers of the India Today group at 57%.[13](https://www.kas.de/documents/264392/0/CSDS_Full%2BPDF%2BREPORT.pdf/55255c15-870f-4bc8-7d93-b5f3564950c6?version=1.0)
## Audience trust and criticism
Trust measures place the channel low relative to older Indian news brands. The Reuters Institute's 2021 India report found that Republic TV, despite its popularity as a news source, had lower trust scores than legacy print and television brands and the highest levels of distrust in its sample.[14](https://reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk/digital-news-report/2021/india) In October 2020 the Mumbai police accused Republic TV and two Marathi entertainment channels of tampering with metering devices installed in sample households to boost their ratings; the report notes that the channel's online and offline audiences grew considerably anyway.[14](https://reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk/digital-news-report/2021/india)
**Editorial placement.** Third-party bias assessments consistently classify the channel as right-leaning. A 2025 ranking by the aggregator KaalNews placed Republic TV English tenth of ten channels profiled, with a right editorial lean and a factuality score of 52/100, describing its primetime as polemical and narrative-led.[15](https://kaalnews.com/guides/unbiased-news-channels-india) Media Bias/Fact Check rates the channel's website, Republic World, as having mixed factuality.[16](https://mediabiasfactcheck.com/republic-world/) A report by a panel of independent international experts states that Republic TV, on many occasions, portrayed Muslims in a negative light, including coverage during the spring 2020 Covid-19 lockdown that blamed Indian Muslims for the spread of the virus.[4](https://www.uv.ac.za/docs/librariesprovider21/default-document-library/piie-report-final.pdf?sfvrsn=624e4920_0) An academic study of English-language Indian broadcast coverage of the [Russian invasion of Ukraine](https://www.edgepedia.org/russian-invasion-of-ukraine) classified Republic TV as right-aligned in its framing analysis, alongside NDTV as left-aligned and India Today as center-right.[17](https://resolve.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/53EF5E752EC070BCF33C99B96506FFD4/S1680433300009461a.pdf/dropping_truth_bombs_the_framing_of_the_russian_invasion_of_ukraine_in_indian_broadcast_news.pdf)
## The wider network
Republic TV anchors a network that has expanded since launch. Republic Bharat, the Hindi vertical, launched on 2 February 2019; Republic Bangla followed on 7 March 2021; and Republic Kannada joined after what the network describes as a strategic asset acquisition in September 2023.[5](https://www.republicworld.com/about-us) The network states it reached over 438 million people across India in 2023 and beams to viewers in the USA, UK, the Middle East, North Africa and Canada.[5](https://www.republicworld.com/about-us) Goswami, the network's president on the governing board of the News Broadcasters Federation, has announced an ambition to broadcast across all major Indian languages and to launch a global news operation from India.[5](https://www.republicworld.com/about-us)
## References
1. [Arnab Goswami's Republic TV goes live, The Indian Express (6 May 2017)](https://indianexpress.com/article/business/companies/arnab-goswami-led-republic-tv-goes-live-4642994/)
2. [Republic Digital, LinkedIn company page](https://in.linkedin.com/company/republicdigital)
3. [Republic TV, Media Ownership Monitor India](https://india.mom-gmr.org/en/media/detail/outlet/republic-tv/)
4. [Report of the Panel of Independent International Experts (PIIE report)](https://www.uv.ac.za/docs/librariesprovider21/default-document-library/piie-report-final.pdf?sfvrsn=624e4920_0)
5. [About Us, Republic World](https://www.republicworld.com/about-us)
6. [Policies Disclaimers, Republic World](https://www.republicworld.com/policies-disclaimers)
7. [Arnab Goswami's Republic TV channel launched, The Financial Express (6 May 2017)](https://www.financialexpress.com/india-news/arnab-goswami-republic-tv-launches-channel-on-tata-sky-airtel-dish-tv-videocon-online-twiiter/656491/lite/)
8. [#RepublicLiveSoon message from Arnab Goswami, Republic World on LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/posts/republic-world_republiclivesoon-a-message-from-arnab-goswami-activity-6265813810670632960-JXMl)
9. [Republic Media Network's shareholding made public: Arnab Goswami controls 82% equity, Republic World (2020)](https://www.republicworld.com/business/republic-media-networks-shareholding-public-arnab-goswami-sole-owner)
10. [Arnab Goswami Roars: 'The Game Has Just Begun', Republic World on YouTube (2020)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IsJtcEGH-p8)
11. [India, Reuters Institute Digital News Report 2024](https://reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk/digital-news-report/2024/india)
12. [NDTV leading news brand in Reuters' weekly reach rankings, Indian Broadcasting World (2026)](https://www.indianbroadcastingworld.com/ndtv-leading-news-brand-in-reuters/)
13. [Media in India, CSDS report (Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung)](https://www.kas.de/documents/264392/0/CSDS_Full%2BPDF%2BREPORT.pdf/55255c15-870f-4bc8-7d93-b5f3564950c6?version=1.0)
14. [India, Reuters Institute Digital News Report 2021](https://reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk/digital-news-report/2021/india)
15. [Most Unbiased Indian News Channels: 2025 Ranking, KaalNews](https://kaalnews.com/guides/unbiased-news-channels-india)
16. [Republic World – Bias and Credibility, Media Bias/Fact Check](https://mediabiasfactcheck.com/republic-world/)
17. [Ravikumar, M. and Downey, J., Dropping Truth Bombs: The Framing of the Russian Invasion of Ukraine in Indian Broadcast News, Cambridge University Press](https://resolve.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/53EF5E752EC070BCF33C99B96506FFD4/S1680433300009461a.pdf/dropping_truth_bombs_the_framing_of_the_russian_invasion_of_ukraine_in_indian_broadcast_news.pdf)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Society and history › Broadcasting and journalism › Broadcast organizations and stations › Broadcast networks and channel brands › Cable and satellite television networks › Cable and satellite news channels*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license