News Broadcasting
CNBC launches new ‘Managing Asia’ series sponsored by Hitachi
MUMBAI: CNBC has launched its second regional, multi-platform sponsorship deal with Hitachi for the network’s Managing Asia: Asia Builders series. Content will largely be drawn from a special event in Jakarta on 11 June and broadcast in two-parts on 26 June and 3 July across CNBC’s Asia Pacific TV and all digital platforms.
CNBC award-winning anchor Christine Tan will host the Jakarta discussions, titled Innovative Cities: Rising to the Challenge, at Hotel Indonesia Kempinski. She will talk to a high-powered panel of influential developers, who are behind some of the biggest urban development projects in Southeast Asia, exploring solutions to today’s urban challenges such as overcrowding, congestion and pollution. On the panel will be Datuk Ismail Ibrahim of the Iskandar Regional Development Authority, Liew Mun Leong of Surbana & Jurong International and SD Darmono of PT Jababeka.
Tan also sits down with Indonesian billionaire-property tycoon Dr (HC) Ir Ciputra, known for the large-scale townships built by his eponymous company, along with his son Candra Ciputra, in a rare interview to examine how innovation has played a key role in building the Ciputra empire.
A poll to assess public opinion on the biggest challenges facing Asian cities is already active on the Asia Builders website at http://cnbcasia.com/events/asiabuilders.
CNBC Asia Pacific vice president of sales Kerry Tarrant said, “We are delighted to be working with Hitachi again. This event and campaign closely aligns with Hitachi’s strategic priorities in the fields of innovation and infrastructure development, while also engaging the influential CNBC business audience on some of the big pan-regional challenges that the Asian economy faces.”
Hitachi Asia managing director Hirohiko Morisaki added, “Hitachi’s Social Innovation Business focuses on improving quality of life for the global community by combining infrastructure solutions with advanced IT technologies. As such, we are excited to partner CNBC once again for this meaningful event and broadcast. While Hitachi is already working closely with key stakeholders from both public and private sectors regionally to resolve urbanization-related issues, this event will provide new perspectives on how Hitachi can better address critical issues through our expertise in areas such as transportation, energy and water solutions.”
News Broadcasting
News TV viewership jumps 33 per cent as West Asia war draws audiences
BARC Week 8 data shows news share rising to 8 per cent despite T20 World Cup
NEW DELHI: Even as individual television news channel ratings remain under a temporary pause, the genre itself is seeing a clear surge in audience attention.
According to the latest data from Broadcast Audience Research Council India, television news recorded a 33 per cent jump in genre share in Week 8 of 2026, covering February 28 to March 6.
The news genre accounted for 8 per cent of total television viewership during the week, up from 6 per cent the previous week. The spike in attention coincided with escalating geopolitical tensions involving the United States, Israel and Iran, which have kept global headlines firmly fixed on West Asia.
The rise is notable because it came at a time when cricket was dominating television screens. The high-stakes stages of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, including the Super 8 fixtures and semi-finals, were being broadcast during the same period.
Despite the cricket frenzy, viewers appeared to be toggling between sport and global affairs, boosting the overall share of news programming.
The surge in genre share comes even as the government has enforced a one-month pause on publishing ratings for individual news channels. The move followed regulatory scrutiny of the television ratings ecosystem.
While channel-level rankings remain temporarily out of sight, the genre-level data suggests that when global tensions escalate, audiences continue to turn to television news for real-time updates.
