News Broadcasting
Optus D1 satellite successfully launched
MUMBAI:The Optus Networks Pty Ltd has launched into orbit a satellite — Optus D1 that will provide fixed communication and direct television broadcast services to Australia and New Zealand.
Launched on 13 October into the orbit aboard an Ariane 5 rocket, had been builted by Orbital Sciences Corporation for Optus of Australia, was successfully launched into its targeted orbit aboard an Ariane 5 rocket on Friday, October 13.
The Optus D1 satellite is the first of the two satellites that Orbital is building for Optus. The second satellite, Optus D2, is scheduled for completion and launch in 2007.
Both of the Optus satellites are based on Orbital’s Star 2.4 platform, which can generate nearly five kilowatts of payload power and can weigh over 5,000 pounds (2,500 kilograms) at launch, making them the largest and most powerful commercial communications spacecraft in Orbital’s satellite product line.
“The demand for satellite communication services continues to grow strongly for direct-to-home subscription television, remote and rural communications and high speed broadband services,” Optus chief executive Paul O’Sullivan said.
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.
