News Broadcasting
SET witnessing continued fall in ratings
MUMBAI: As far as the ratings go, Sony Entertainment appears to be in a bit of a slump at the moment. If Kahin Na Kahin Koi Hai, SET’s matchmaking blockbuster show hosted by Bollywood screen siren Madhuri Dixit singularly failed to sizzle the charts for the channel, the start has been equally unimpressive for another big ticket programming initiative from the channel – the weekender Kya Hadsa Kya Haqeeqat.
The big budget serial from the Balaji stable that is costing Sony Rs 1 million per episode has failed to register on the Top 100 list. According to market research agency AC Nielsen’s TAM ratings covering all cable and satellite homes (24 panels), for the week from 11 August to 17 August, Sony’s highest rated show was the long running thriller series C.I.D. at 39 with 3.56 TVRs.
Even the Balaji dependables Kkusum and Kutumb have been steadily slipping. Kutumb was at 41 with 3.52 TVRs while Kkusum was at 42 with 3.51 TVRs. The only other show in the Top 100 for Sony was Heena at 89 with 2.72 TVRs.
Speaking about Kya Hadsa, Sunil Lulla, executive V-P – SET, said it was far too early to pass judgment on the show’s performance. Lulla, while admitting that the channel’s ratings had seen a dip in the last three months, was however, quite categorical that the present slump was just a blip on the radar for SET. Lulla maintained that the Kkusum, Kutumb franchises still had positive cachet with audiences and said that the tweaking in the programming already brought about for Kutumb, as well as what was planned for Kkusum, would show results in the coming weeks.
Lulla also expressed confidence that the slew of new shows that would be unveiled over the next few months would reinforce the message that there is freshness and excitement to be had on the channel.
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.
