News Broadcasting
CNN has its ‘Eye On China’ next month
MUMBAI: With China set to become the world’s largest economy by mid-century, and with its international influence on the rise, CNN dedicates extensive resources to Eye On China. This will be a week of live and special feature programming from Beijing. From 14 to 22 May 2005, Eye On China will give CNN audiences a comprehensive look inside one of the world’s fastest growing economies.
The coverage will focus on China’s swiftly evolving role in global politics and business, and the impact of the country’s rapid modernization on its people and culture. In a rare, live broadcast from Beijing’s historic Diaoyutai State Guesthouse, CNN’s celebrated senior journalist Jim Clancy hosts a roundtable discussion about China’s role in the world. CNN Connects: China Rising will feature a panel of distinguished speakers and a live studio audience of 120 people, including some of the chiefs of global business, heads of state, and leading thinkers gathered in Beijing for the Fortune Global Forum.
CNN Intl senior VP Rena Golden says, “CNN deepens its commitment to examining China’s movements on the world stage, its impact on Asia and neighboring countries. A team of award-winning journalists will travel from the US and Hong Kong to join Beijing-based correspondents for the week of Eye On China coverage, which aims to give our viewers a greater understanding of the many complex issues facing modern China.”
CNN International will also be the only other TV news network, outside of Chinese national broadcaster CCTV, allowed to have cameras on location to broadcast, live, the President of the People’s Republic of China Hu Jintao’s opening keynote address at the Fortune Global Forum on 16 May at around 5 pm.
Throughout the week, CNN’s award-winning, prime-time morning news programme CNN Today will be hosted live from Beijing by Kristie Lu Stout and Hugh Riminton, who will interview some of the global opinion makers in Beijing for the Fortune Global Forum. Senior Asia Correspondent and long-time China expert Mike Chinoy and Beijing Correspondent Stan Grant will contribute in-depth reports addressing current developments in China’s social, economic and political arenas.
Other signature programmes will include a one-hour documentary, Navigating the New China, two special editions of Talk Asia, as well as CNN Business Traveller from Shanghai.
Navigating The New China airs on 14 May at 3:30 pm on 15 May at 4:30 pm, 17 May at 10:30 am, and 3:30 pm and on 21 May at 5:30 pm. CNN’s Beijing Correspondent Stan Grant travels hundreds of miles across the world’s most rapidly shifting country from the mountains of Guizhou Province to the hothouse urban environment of coastal Guangdong. Along the way, Stan meets fascinating characters of all ages and from all walks of life, and hears their views about how China is changing and their apprehensions about being left behind in the country’s headlong rush into the 21st century.
The chat show Talk Asia catches up with Chinses filmmaker Zhang Yimou on 14 May at 8:30 am, 8 pm, and on 15 May at 4 pm and 8:30 pm. Yimou (Raise the Red Lantern, Judou, House of Flying Daggers, Hero) talks to the show’s host Lorraine Hahn about a wide range of topics, ranging from his passion for movies, to the influence of his work on Hollywood and his future plans. Another episode of the show will feature Shanda Interactive Entertainment president Tang Jun. this airs on 21 May at 8:30 am with replays on 21 May at 8 pm, 22 May at 4 pm and at 8:30 pm.
Shanda Interactive Entertainment claims to be the leading operator of online games in China. Jun discusses his vision for the company, the challenges of starting and developing the business, Shanda’s future plans, and his career.
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.
