News Broadcasting
Frankly Speaking with Modi
MUMBAI: The channel which claims to be the headquarter for 2014 elections and the man who gets personalities to speak frankly has finally got BJP’s prime ministerial candidate, Narendra Modi, on the channel.
Times Now has added another feather to its cap by becoming the first English News channel to get an interview with Narendra Modi. The man has already given a lot of interviews since the elections started to various Hindi channels, to name a few: ETV Gujarati, India News, Aaj Tak, CNBC Awaaz, Zee News etc.
ETV Gujarati opened the score for Modi and his string of interviews. However, English News channels have tried their level best to get the man on to their channel; and since then failed.
CNN IBN’s deputy editor Sagarika Ghose even tweeted asking the man to give an interview to “best” journalists. To which India TV’s chairman and editor-in chief Rajat Sharma replied, “Well, I already got one. You should watch good news channels too.”
The channels editor-in-chief Arnab Goswami who got Rahul Gandhi first on his ‘Frankly Speaking’ show can now finally breathe a sigh of relief to get Modi before any of his rivals did. The Rahul Gandhi interview became a trend and also a butt of jokes. The hashtag #RahulSpeaksToArnab trended for days after the interview as jokes, parodies, cartoons and even remixes of the interview flooded the internet space.
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With Varansi going to polls on 12 May from where Modi fights against AAP’s Arvind Kejriwal, BJPs prime ministerial candidate is already in news. The time seems perfect for the channel to speak to the man.
In the interview to Goswami, Modi will speak about issues ranging from his campaign to the recent controversy over his ‘caste’ comments and also Priyanka Gandhi’s ‘Neech Rajniti’ jibe.
With Times Now and Twitter getting into a partnership for the 2014 general elections, hashtags have become common for the channel. The hashtag this time around is #ModiSpeaksToArnab. One will have to wait and watch to see what will trend after the interview airs on 8 May at 9pm.
News Broadcasting
Zee Business corners 74.2 per cent market share on Budget Day, BARC data shows
Channel extends lead as investors tune in for policy decoding and markets
MUMBAI: Zee Business tightened its grip on India’s business news audience on Union Budget Day, commanding a 74.2 per cent market share during peak coverage hours, according to data from Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC).
The numbers, tracked between 0800 and 1000 hrs in north India among NCCS ABC males aged 22 and above, underscore the channel’s dominance as investors and traders tuned in for real-time policy decoding and market reaction. The share was calculated across two business news channels.
Industry executives say the spike mirrors an earnings-call-style verdict from viewers: speed, clarity and conviction won the day. Zee Business has retained its leadership beyond Budget Day, topping the charts on a daily, weekly and monthly basis, signalling sustained audience loyalty rather than a one-off surge.
The ratings momentum carried into Budget Samvad 2026, the channel’s flagship post-Budget discussion, broadcast live from the Bombay Stock Exchange. The session was moderated by Zee Business managing editor Anil Singhvi, and featured market veteran Ramesh Damani, among other participants.
Viewers were drawn to wall-to-wall Budget analysis, sharp market calls and plain-English interpretation of policy measures: an approach that continues to differentiate the channel in a crowded news market.
“The 74.2 per cent share reflects viewer trust in timely and credible market insight,” Singhvi said, adding that the post-Budget forum was designed to move beyond headlines and unpack the implications for investors and the broader economy.
