News Broadcasting
Discovery channel partners Chaupal marathon in sonepat to encourage healthy living
MUMBAI: Discovery Channelin association with Chaupal, a non-government organisation is organising the 3rdChaupal Marathon to be held on Sunday, November 17 at Sonepat, Haryana. Themarathon aims to encourage people to imbibe principles of good health and hygiene, protect the environment for better living and fight against social evils like female foeticide.
Discovery Channel will support the initiative of Chaupal, an internationally recognised non-governmental organisation (NGO) run by health professionals (www.chaupalindia.org) to organise the Chapual Marathon. In its 3rd year, Chaupal Marathon is an effort to raise awareness amongst rural people of Haryana on various issues related to general health, hygiene and to promote wellbeing awareness. The theme of this year’s marathon is “drive carefully to secure families”, aiming to spread consciousness about road traffic accidents which are amongst the major causes of morbidities and mortalities in India, adding financial burden on the families and the health care system. In its previous year, Discovery Channel supported Chaupal Marathon on issues such as the health of the girl child, empowerment of women, and an end to female foeticide.
The race will commence on Sunday, November 17 at 7:30 am from Murthal University (DeenBandhuChotu Ram University) and end at the Chaupal Health Center in village Banyapur, Sonepat, covering a total distance of 12 kms. Approximately ten thousand runners from North India, including national and international athletes are expected to participate in the marathon. Leading personalities like Dr.KiranBedi (IPS);Ms.Jaya Prada, Member Parliament & former actress; and Olympics wrestler Sushil Kumar are expected to participate in the marathon. A cash price of Rs. 41,000 will be awarded to the runner placing first in the open race. Many other cash awards will be given to the winners in different race categories.
Commenting on Discovery Channel’s association with Chaupal, Rahul Johri, Senior Vice President and General Manager – South Asia and Head of Revenue, Pan-Regional Ad Sales and Southeast Asia, Discovery Networks Asia-Pacificsaid, “Discovery Channel is committed to making a difference in the lives of people, be it through its programming or socially relevant events. The channel in collaboration with Chaupalstrives to bring awareness amongst people towards a healthy and better social environment.”
Dr. Rajinder Singh Tonk, Chairperson of Chaupal and eminent physician, said, “Chaupal has been working tirelessly to provide healthy living and medical benefits to people thorough community outreach camps, mobile clinics and health centers. An annual event, the ChaupalMarathon is an initiative to raise awareness on healthy living. We are thankful to Discovery Channel for their continued participation in this initiative.”
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.
