NDTV was the brainchild of its chairman, Prannoy Roy, and his wife and managing director, Radhika Roy. In 1988, NDTV's producers produced the news and current affairs show The World This Week for Doordarshan. The show proved to be immensely popular and NDTV established its image as a credible private news producer. It moved on to become the sole news content provider and producer for India’s first 24-hour news channel, Star News. In 2003, they launched two 24-hour news channels—NDTV 24x7 in English and NDTV India in Hindi.
In January 2016, the channel received notice from the Information and Broadcasting ministry over its coverage of the Pathankot terrorist attack for allegedly violating norms. On 4 January 2016, while Indian security forces were still under the counter operations against the terrorist attack committed on 2 January 2016 at the Pathankot Air Force Station, NDTV India's telecast between 1225 and 1231 hours had allegedly revealed "strategically-sensitive information". On 2 November 2016, the committee set up by the ministry ordered a blackout of the channel on 9 November 2016, prohibiting "transmission or re-transmission for one day on any platform throughout India". The order also stated that NDTV had revealed strategically-sensitive information related to the positions of ammunition and armaments at the airbase along with locations of schools and residential areas in the vicinity, thus endangering civilian lives. The coverage was deemed in violation of the Cable TV Network Rules, 1994 that prevent live coverage of anti-terrorist operations. Later the editors guild and other organisations together with prominent journalists came up against the order and claimed it to be an attack on freedom of press by the government. It was said that the government had targeted NDTV India for criticising the government and asking questions of public interest specially through its show Prime Time hosted by Ravish Kumar, in a time when other news channels worked under the government's indirect control and ran propaganda set by the government itself. After the channel decided to move to the Supreme Court of India against the order, got a date of hearing on 5 November 2016, and seemed to receive support from public over social media and through protests, the government surprisingly put its orders regarding blackout on hold just before the hearing. The channel, especially the show Prime Time hosted by Ravish Kumar is often criticized by BJP members for showing news critical of Indian Prime MinisterModi. The company has called it a witch-hunt. Ravish Kumar has said several times that he has been constantly harassed and threatened by pro-government activists.
