News Broadcasting
UTV net profit up 249 per cent to Rs 163 million
MUMBAI: UTV Software Communications’ consolidated net profit has surged 249 per cent to stand at Rs 163 million for the fiscal ended 31 March, 2005.
Total income grew 58 per cent to Rs 1,805 million. Explains UTV CEO Ronnie Screwvala, “In the fiscal under review we took the conscious decision of investing in feature films and general entertainment channel Hungama TV for the age group of 4-14. In the years to come, we estimate high growth potential in these segments for the company. We released two tent-pole feature films Lakshya and Swades.”
The consolidated financial result of the company comprises subsidiaries UESPL, UTV-US, UTV-UK, UTV-Mauritius and UTV-BVI.
UTV’s television segment at Rs 909 million in the fiscal contributed 50 per cent to the company’s consolidated revenues. Revenue from films was Rs 774 million while allied content contributed Rs 98 million.
On a standalone basis, UTV’s revenue for the year rose 58 per cent to Rs 1560 million. Net profit increased 114 per cent to Rs 156 million.
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.
