News Broadcasting
CNN-IBN and IBN 7 forays into reality show format with ‘Dard-e-Disco’
MUMBAI: CNN-IBN and IBN 7 has launched a reality talent hunt show Dard-e-Disco dance challenge. The challenge is an attempt to find the best dancer to dance in Farah Khan directed Om Shanti Om’s item number Dard-e-Disco.
After the audition rounds in Delhi, Mumbai, Ahmedabad and Chandigarh, the five most talented finalists, chosen over the weeks, will receive personalised choreography lessons from Farah.
The finalists will feature in a special one-hour dance show wherein Shahrukh Khan, Farah Khan and Deepika Padukone will be the judges. The winner will get an opportunity to dance with Shahrukh Khan.The video play outs including the grand finale will be aired on the entertainment section of CNN-IBN, IBN 7 and ibnlive.com.
CNN-IBN and IBN 7 editor-in-chief Rajdeep Sardesai said, “With our interest in exploring interactive reality programming, coupled with Om Shanti Om being one of the most awaited releases of the year, ‘Dard-e-Disco dance Challenge’ is a first-of-its-kind venture attempted by us.”
IBN 7 managing editor Ashutosh said, “Reality talent hunts are a rage these days. However, this dance contest stands apart in that it is directly based on a widely anticipated film whose music is already creating waves around the nation. Active involvement by Farah Khan, Shah Rukh Khan and Deepika Padukone and wide-spread participation by the public is bound to make this initiative an all-out success.”
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.
