News Broadcasting
BBC focusses on US mid terms elections with ‘USA Direct’
MUMBAI: Next month in the lead-up to the mid-term elections in the US on 7 November, the BBC will have a USA Direct season.
This will feature news coverage, interviews and documentaries looking at American society, culture, economics, and politics. In addition some of BBC World’s regular programmes such as flagship interview programme HARDtalk, technology weekly Click and the interactive multimedia discussion programme Have Your Say, will offer an assessment of ‘the state of the nation’, asking has the US reached its peak as the world’s only superpower?
World Business Report will be reporting on the topical issue of immigration and the role of immigrants in the work force. A special It’s My Country Too airs on 21 October at 7:40 pm. It’s five years since 9/11, and the US is a changed country, especially for Muslims. Islam is one of the fastest-growing religions in the US, yet one in four Americans regard Muslims living among them with suspicion. As part of the USA Direct season, It’s My Country Too follows Salman Ahmed, the founding member of successful rock band Junoon, as he explores what it means to be an American Muslim. Salman talks to taxi drivers, students and law reform campaigners, including a mother whose desperate search for her Muslim son after 9/11 turned her into a political activist.
The World Debate Advancing Sands: Deserts and Migration airs on 14 October at 5:40 pm. A dust bowl the size of the US threatens our world. The UN says that desertification is forcing 100 million people to leave their homes. Marking the UN Year Of Deserts and Desertification, The World Debate comes from the headquarters of the World Conservation Union in Switzerland. Six experts will take questions from viewers on the Internet on why so little has been done to halt the degradation of fertile lands and what can now be done to ensure that tens of millions more are not forced to leave their villages.
Is A Free Media Essential For Development? airs on 28 October at 5:40 pm. ‘Communications for Development’ is a new and expanding field, which places the media at the heart of international development efforts. At its basic level it’s about using the media, for instance, to encourage people to wash their hands before eating or to use condoms – simple, non-controversial campaigns that can potentially save millions of lives. However increasingly the media’s role in promoting good governance is being recognised by donor countries, and not always welcomed by the governments of some developing countries. Many place restrictions on their domestic media, with actual or self-censorship rife.
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: 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.
