News Broadcasting
Almeida made Sony business head; Rajani takes over at Max
MUMBAI: In a top level executive reshuffle, Max Channel business head Albert Almeida has been handed over the responsibility of the flagship channel Sony Entertainment India business head.
At Max, Almeida will be replaced by Sneha Rajani, who is presently heading Max Programming & Acquisitions.
Albert and Sneha will report to Set India COO NP Singh. The new appointments have been made with immediate effect.
On the new leadership team, Set India CEO Kunal Dasgupta says, “As an organisation our efforts have always been focused on creating a combined powerhouse of channels where each of our channels are led by strong professionals who are able to provide sound and effective leadership. In order to further strengthen this leadership these movements have been made where Albert and Sneha can take their teams to greater heights”.
Commenting on this new announcement, Set India COO NP Singh said, “Both Albert and Sneha have contributed immensely to the growth of the network and now leading SET and Max respectively will give them an opportunity to further grow these brands. Albert will however continue to oversee ICC Champions Trophy till the end of the tournament.”
Almeida has been with Set for over three years and has provided leadership as marketing head of Set Channel as well. Rajani has been with the company for over seven years and has been involved in areas such as programming, acquisitions & cricket.
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.
