News Broadcasting
Piers Wenger is ‘Dr. Who’ executive producer
MUMBAI: BBC has announced that Piers Wenger is to take over the helm as executive producer for Doctor Who’s fifth series and will become BBC Wales head of drama. Piers is to succeed Julie Gardner who leaves that role in January 2009.
In India, the show airs on BBC Entertainment, which is available on Tata Sky.
Piers, who was the producer of Housewife, 49 with Victoria Wood, says, “I’m incredibly excited to be associated with BBC Wales. The success of the drama team there has been extraordinary, and I look forward to taking the team to even greater heights. Working with Julie Gardner on Doctor Who over the next year will provide an invaluable insight into the secrets and success of the series. I couldn’t have a more inspiring leader.”
BBC Wales controller Menna Richards said, “I’m delighted Piers is joining the BBC Wales team, and I’m confident he can build on Julie’s huge successes. Julie has helped transform drama production – not only at BBC Wales but across the BBC.
“She is an extraordinarily creative and dynamic leader. I am full of gratitude and admiration for her achievements at BBC Wales, which will of course continue over the coming months. We owe her a huge debt.”
Gardner said, “I know that when I hand over my sonic screwdriver to Piers for season five of Doctor Who, it’ll be to someone who loves and understands the show.
“Doctor Who is the most precious TV drama in the galaxy, and I’m leaving it in safe and brilliant hands. I’ve been on the trip of a lifetime in the last five years with the finest writers, actors and crew, and I’ve got another 18 months of time travel to enjoy.”
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.
