News Broadcasting
BBC’s ‘Next Big Thing’ global music contest announces finalists
MUMBAI: UK pubcaster The BBC’s international search for the world’s best young band or solo artist is heading towards the finale with young musicians from Armenia, Brazil, Ghana, Malawi, UK and USA winning their way into the final.
The shortlisted finalists are Silva (Armenia), Sweet Cherry Fury (Brazil), Mishkini (Ghana), NiC (Nick Giannakis) (Malawi), The Skagz (UK), Stefan Abingdon (UK) MLK and the Dreamers (USA).
The seven finalists are expected to fly into the UK next week to perform at the BBC’s famous Maida Vale studios. The Next Big Thing is showcasing musicians who are 18 or under, compose original tracks and are unsigned. The shortlist was judged by a global panel of music industry names including critics, artists, record label pioneers and industry heavyweights.
The BBC initially planned to shortlist six finalists, but the global panel came up with seven names. The Next Big Thing producer Simon Pitts explains: “We had such a high standard of entries it was simply impossible to get it down to six.”
One of the panellists, British writer and broadcaster, Miranda Sawyer, described Silva and her song I Like as “unnervingly sophisticated”.
UK-based Gareth Simpson, who recently developed Oxjam – Oxfam’s most ambitious music event ever – said he liked the range of influences evident on Silva’s performance: “There’s an eastern feel fused with a contemporary R&B.”
Ilka Schlockermann, German-born and now UK-based musician, producer and publicist, described Mishkini’s 3 Eyez as “an interesting, mellow track” while Sergio Dias, the lead singer and founder of internationally-acclaimed Brazilian band Os Mutantes, liked the rhythm division of Mishkini’s melody which he described as “simple but hearty”.
The tracks can be heard at bbcworldservice.com/thenextbigthing. The Next Big Thing final will take place on 9 December 2006 in a special programme. Producer William Orbit (of Madonna, Robbie Williams and Sugababes fame) will be joined by world music legends Cathy Dennis, Angelique Kidjo, Rough Trade founder Geoff Travis (Antony & The Johnsons, The Strokes, The Smiths) and special guest Peter Gabriel in a live show to select the winner from six finalists.
The competition is part of a week of programmes from BBC World Service, Generation Next, which explores the real issues in the world according to under-18s.
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.
