News Broadcasting
Reliance to increase OFC network by 2500 kms in AP
BANGALORE: Reliance plans to add another 2500 kms of Optic Fiber to the already existing 6500 kms network in Andhra Pradesh. The company plans to increase its subscriber base from 900,000 and extend its services from the present 262 towns to 400 by March 2005. This initiative will give the company a competitive advantage and help scaling operations in the long run.
With data capability, internet would be available across 400 towns in the state.
Nationally, the company plans a spend totaling Rs 250 billion including the investments to date which would help increase its cover 400,000 villages and 5700 towns in the country as well as 65 per cent of the land area in AP.
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.
