News Broadcasting
ET Now ropes in Shyam Chhabria as head of branded content
MUMBAI: ET Now, the 24-hour English business news channel, has appointed Shyam Chhabria as head of branded content.
Based out of Mumbai, he will focus on creating stronger relationship with prospective clients by designing properties that address client needs. He will report to Times Television Network chief sales officer Hemant Arora.
Arora said, “I am delighted to welcome Chhabria to his new role as head of branded content. With his experience in creating business units and content supported by advertisers he will be able to add tremendous value to the branded solutions offered by ET Now.”
Chhabria comes with over 14 years of experience in sales and marketing and has spent nearly seven years in the media & entertainment sector. He has worked with NDTV Media, Balaji Telefilms and Seventy EMG.
Chhabria commented, “I am excited to be a part of such a dynamic and motivated environment of ET Now. Driving brand solutions for television both in terms of content and sales are something I am very passionate about and ET Now is a perfect platform to connect brands to evolved Indian audiences.”
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:Â 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.
