News Broadcasting
News Channels continue their innovations for World Cup
MUMBAI: When India and Pakistan face each other on the Cricket ground, it’s bigger than just a game. With emotions running high in two neighboring sides of the border for the World Cup face-off between India & Pakistan, NewsX and India News will join hands with PTV Sports and DIN News of Pakistan to present ‘War of the Worlds-Indo-Pak Clash’ and ‘India Mange Cup’ respectively, that will bring to the viewers extensive coverage around the Indo-Pak matches in the World Cup 2015.
Continuing with its objective of delivering quality content, iTV Network brings exclusive shows under this association. The channels will telecast multiple joint shows where panellists from both nations will discuss and analyze the teams, their performances and the likely outcome of the matches. The shows will also take a closer look at the history of the World Cup matches played between India and Pakistan. The channels together will conduct build-up shows on 13 and 14 February before the nations’ first face-off in World cup on 15 February. The special show will also analyse the impact index of the teams and the players by using Wisden Wizard Impact Index by Wisden India.
The array of special programming on the channels will include:
NewsX:
· On 13 & 14 February, Preview show before the epic battle between India Pakistan which will reminisce India’s unbeaten record against Pakistan in World Cup matches. The show will also compare both the teams using the Wisden Wizard Impact.
· On 15 February @ 7.30am, a half an hour pre-match show that will analyse the likely outcome of the match and a post-match review show to dissect the match from every aspect.
The guest panel will include many big names from India and Pakistan Cricket and Journalism fraternity like Anshuman Gaiekwad, Ayaz Memon, Vinod Kambli, Mohsin Khan, Sarfraz Nawaz, Jonty Rhodes etc.
India News:
· On 14 February: A preview show (7pm-10pm) along with debates between the players of respective teams.
· On 15 February: Pre-match special (at 8am) and post-match special, culminating into a mega show at 8pm in the evening that will review the match from all aspects.
The guest panel on the channel will include dignitaries and legendary names from India & Pakistan, such as Vinod Kambli, Nayan Mongia, Ritender Sodhi, Rajkumar Sharma (Coach, Virat Kohli) & Salim Malik (DIN News).
In addition to these, the channel will also telecast a special show if India & Pakistan fight each other in the knockouts and a mega preview show before the Grand Finale.
Speaking on this partnership, NewsX editor-in-chief Rahul Shivshankar said, “India & Pakistan matches have always creating a huge stir in both of our nations. Catching up with this rising excitement around the world cup face-off between the nations, we are glad to partner with PTV Sports, Pakistan and bring to the viewers a unique line-up of programming never seen before in World Cup. I am confident that this association will enhance our World Cup coverage and will bring the best to our viewers.”
India News editor-in-chief Deepak Chaurasia added, “India-Pakistan cricket matches are like a treat for the cricket lovers of two nations. While all other channels will be busy highlighting reactions from India, we at India News will make one step further by getting coverage direct from the other side of the border. Association with DIN News will certainly add an edge to our programming.”
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.
