News Broadcasting
One Alliance hikes subscription rates to Rs 55
MUMBAI: Erring on the side of abundant caution? Maybe, maybe not. Sony Entertainment’s One Alliance Network, which has just added premium movie channel HBO to its roster, today announced a hike in its monthly subscription rate package from Rs 40 to Rs 55, effective 1 January 2003.
Taking into consideration the fact that HBO is now part of the bouquet, and that the network has the biggest television event of the year – the cricket World Cup – on its platform, the increase is far lower than what many in the cable trade were fearing.
Looking at the current package price of Rs 40, and adding in the effective current cost of HBO at about Rs 8, the network price works out to an increase of Rs 7.
Distribution executives that indiantelevision.com spoke to earlier had said that with HBO on board and the cricket thrown in, Rs 65 looked a likely pricing structure. One that the cable trade could probably live with. However, one-Delhi-based cable operator had told indiantelevison.com two days ago that he was expecting the new package price to be Rs 55 so not everyone in the trade is surprised by the pricing.
Speaking to indiantelevision.com, SET India CEO Kunal Dasgupta said the cable industry had been fearing the worst and had reacted very positively to the new price structure. Dasgupta asserted that by keeping the effective hike quantum so low he expected the declared base of the One Alliance to shoot up dramatically in the lead-up to the World Cup and maintain those levels even after the end of the tournament.
Timed strategically, the increase comes a few months before Max, the cricket and movies channel, is poised to air the World Cup. The network has also promised a fresh programming line up in the New Year for channels as diverse as AXN and MAX, apart from the World Cup.
The One Alliance, a joint venture distribution company of Sony Entertainment Television and Discovery Communications India, floated in March this year, has in its kitty Sony, Max, AXN, CNBC, Discovery, Animal Planet and the newly acquired HBO.
Dasgupta still needs a news channel as (with CNBC India headed to Zee-Turner even more so), as well as a music channel and kids channel to complete his bouquet. For the second part the two Viacom channels MTV and Nickelodeon look the most attractive bets currently. However, Nick is with the Zee-Turner and with over 18 months of the present contract still left to run, it may eventually turn out that MTV joins Sony while the kids channel remains where it is.
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.
