News Broadcasting
NDS to lead digi cable transition in Korea
MUMBAI: News Corp’s technology solutions provider NDS Group announced today that CJ CableNet had selected NDS as the conditional access provider for the launch of digital cable TV services.
CJ CableNet, Korea’s largest MSO, is a member of the powerful CJ Group media conglomerate. The company is planning to launch a digital broadcasting service comprising more than 120 digital and interactive TV services, with the first trial services available in October 2004.
CJ CableNet CEO Lee Kwan Hoon was quoted in an official release as saying, “CJ CableNet is spearheading the transition to digital media within the CJ Group, and the company has aggressive plans for new digital services. NDS conditional access technology is the key part of our digital strategy. It will enable CJ CableNet to offer new services in the areas of digital media and entertainment and generate new revenue.”
NDS Asia Pacific vice-president and general manager Sue Taylor said, “NDS has committed significant resources to develop OpenCable solutions for Korea, and we are now focusing on deploying the NDS leading technology within the aggressive timeline of CJ CableNet. NDS and CJ CableNet also developed one of the world’s first OCAP-compliant electronic programme guides, which will set a new standard for digital broadcasting services in Korea and create a new viewing experience.”
This year, leading Korean MSOs and SOs are launching digital broadcasting services. There are 11 million cable TV households in Korea and the number of cable TV households is forecast to increase dramatically as a result of the launch of digital broadcasting operations. Due to the success of NDS in the Korean cable TV market, the NDS Korea operations have expanded rapidly during the past year.
Korea has mandated the OpenCable OCAP standard for digital cable TV broadcasting. NDS was one of the first conditional access providers to be granted certification by the Telecommunications Technology Association (TTA) of Korea.
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.
