News Broadcasting
TV distribution company Zebra expands Asian operations
MUMBAI: Australia-based television distribution company Zebra has expanded its Asian operations by opening an office in Beijing. Zebra is currently supplying movies, dramas, music and comedies to some of Asia’s largest broadcasters.
The most recent agreement Zebra had agreed into was with the sale of over 300 hours of music content to China, which will start rolling out early next month.
“Zebra is quickly becoming one of Asia’s largest and most dynamic television distribution companies,” said an official release. China is one of the fastest growing television industries and we feel it is important to have a team of people on the ground to service the requirements of the numerous broadcasters opening their doors to western programming,” observed the release.
“Instead of meeting with a broadcaster and trying to sell a defined catalogue of product, we now gain a detailed understanding of their requirements and the expectations set by their audience and advertising partners. A range of suitable product is then presented that fits within the broadcaster’s budgetary parameters and marketing guidelines,” the release concluded.
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.
