News Broadcasting
Ten Sports claims excellent ratings for WWE programming
MUMBAI: Fresh off a World Wrestling Entertainment event in India after a gap of six years which met with an excellent response, Ten Sports, which commenced operations in India earlier this year, claims to have stolen a march over arch rival ESPN Star Sports thanks to WWE programming.
Programmes air everyday on the channel with the exception of Sunday at 5 pm and 10:30 pm. The blocks include Raw, Smackdown!, Heat. Quoting TAM ratings for all of India in the c&s 4+ category for the period 20 October to 16 November, the channel claims that average time spent in the time band 5 pm for continous viewing over five minutes is 28 minutes and for the 10:30 pm band is 23 minutes. ESPN’s share at 5 pm is three minutes while Star Sports’ share is just over five minutes. ESS fares marginally better in the 10:30 pm band with average time spent being 10 minutes, Ten claims.
For continous viewing of over five minutes in the 5 pm band the average reach is 3 per cent for Ten Sports. For ESPN it is a mere 0.5 per cent and for Star Sports it is 1.3 per cent. In the 10:30 pm band the reach increases to 3.3 per cent. For ESPN it is 1.3 per cent and for Star Sports it is 1.8 per cent.
While Ten Sports may be claiming succes in increasing viewer cachet through wrestling, in the US it is on a steady downswing. An Associated Press report states that average viewership so far this season for RAW is 3.1 million households, down 14 per cent from 3.6 million last season, 20 per cent from 2000 and 35 per cent from the 1999 season. The AP report quotes figures from Nielsen Media Research. SmackDown! has suffered a similar decline.
A major reason for the decline could be that fatigue with the excessive soap opera storylines dealing with alleged homosexuality, fake marriages and their ilk has set in. Ratings have also been affected by the fact that top personalities like Stone Cold Steve Austin and The Rock are not there at the moment due to different reasons. In addition, although recent legal problems like a sexual harrasement lawsuit were resolved in favour of the WWE, they generated plenty of negative publicity.
Coming back to Ten Sports. The channel is planning to air live Indian horse racing for the first time on Indian television from this month. 60 races will be spread across 20 weeks. Watch this space for further details.
News Broadcasting
Kamlesh Singh receives Haldi Ghati Award from MMCF
India Today Group editor honoured for three decades of journalism at Udaipur ceremony.
MUMBAI- Kamlesh Singh just turned a lifetime of sharp words into a shiny shield because when journalism wakes up a society, even the Maharana of Mewar wants to pin a medal on it.
The Maharana of Mewar Charitable Foundation (MMCF) conferred its prestigious Haldi Ghati Award on Kamlesh Singh, a senior editor at the India Today Group, during a ceremony in Udaipur on 15 March 2026. The national award, instituted in 1981-82, recognises “work of permanent value that initiates an awakening in society through the medium of journalism.”
Singh, who leads several editorial initiatives including Aaj Tak Radio, the Teen Taal community and The Lallantop, was presented the honour by Lakshyaraj Singh Mewar, Managing Trustee of MMCF. The citation highlighted his three decades of contributions to Indian media, innovations in digital journalism, mentoring young reporters, and his popular podcast persona “Tau” on Teen Taal, which fosters thoughtful public discourse.
The Haldi Ghati Award, named after the historic Battle of Haldighati symbolising valour and resilience, is one of four national awards given annually by MMCF. Past recipients include Tavleen Singh, Piyush Pandey and Raj Chengappa.
Other honourees this year included Padma Vibhushan Pt Hari Prasad Chaurasia, Vedamurti Devvrat Rekhe, Treeman of India Marimuthu Yoganathan, Vir Chakra Capt Rizwan Malik, and US-based researcher Molly Emma Aitken, who received the Colonel James Tod Award for contributions to understanding Mewar’s spirit and values.
In an era where headlines often shout louder than substance, the MMCF quietly reminded everyone that real journalism isn’t about noise, it’s about the quiet, persistent work that stirs society awake, one thoughtful story at a time.
