News Broadcasting
CNN marketing initiative in India to mark 25 years
MUMBAI: As CNN, a division of Turner Broadcasting System, Inc celebrates the network’s 25 years, it has announced the launch of an aggressive, multi-dimensional marketing campaign in India.
CNN’s 25 years’ promotion will primarily focus on the impact and influence of CNN on the world and world events and is targeted at the Network’s viewers, general public, businessmen, decision-makers and opinion leaders.
The campaign includes print, television, outdoor, Internet, in-flight commercials as well as an opportunity for consumers to win a host of prizes by participating in interactive contests that will be run through various platforms such as wireless/mobile, Internet, Crossword bookstores and Barista Coffee Shops, informs an official communiqué.
Turner International India Pvt. Ltd director for affiliate relations & marketing Miran Shah said, “CNN created the concept of 24/7 news and radically changed the way the world consumes news. The contestants can access the online contest through Contests2Win.com, Rediff.com and other trade websites.”
The Network will also have a CNN 25 Quiz delivered through SMS via mobile phones across the country. Mobile phone users, who respond with the correct answers to 8558, could win exclusive CNN merchandise.
CNN has also tied up with Crossword, a leading bookstore in the country, to place a CNN desk along with a laptop at select Crossword bookstores in Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore. Consumers visiting Crossword can get information on CNN from the desk as well as participate in an off-line contest.
In addition, Barista Coffee Shops will also display CNN tent-cards on each table that will enable the consumers to participate in the contest.
Along side the contests, special 25th anniversary television commercials will run on television channels, in cinemas as well as during air flights.
The winner of each contest will win exclusive CNN 25 merchandise and will be considered for the lucky draw to win the grand prize – an iPod.
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.
